Short Story Criticism: Find eBooks

"Diverse in theme, style and cultural context, the American short story can take many forms. The only common theme is the short story's unique ability to captivate an audience. This volume discusses the origin and popularity of the short story. Original critical essays on a diverse collection of writers highlight Edgar Allen Poe, Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce, O. Henry, Kate Chopin and many others."

"The American Short Story since 1950 offers a reappraisal and contextualisation of a critically underrated genre during a particularly rich period in its history. It offers new readings of important stories by key writers including Flannery O'Connor, John Cheever, Donald Barthelme, Raymond Carver, Lorrie Moore and Grace Paley. These readings are related throughout to the various contexts in which stories are written and published, including creative writing schools, story-writing handbooks, mass market and'little'magazines. A long introduction tells the story of the American short story before 1950. The first four chapters are roughly chronological, covering the major trends (such as realism, fabulism and minimalism) in short fiction from the 1950s to 2000. The fifth explores the implications for the short story of its association with creative writing education. The sixth deals with the short story sequence since 1950. A conclusion surveys the state of short fiction today.Key Features•explores a particularly rich period in the history of the short story •offers close-readings of important stories by major writers including Flannery O'Connor, John Cheever, William Gass, Donald Barthelme, Raymond Carver, Denis Johnson, Junot Díaz, Edward P. Jones, Grace Paley, Sherman Alexie, David Foster Wallace, Gish Jen, Lorrie Moore, David Bezmozgis and Lydia Davis• draws on previously unpublished interviews with many of these writers•explores the contexts in which stories are written and published, including story-writing handbooks, mass market and'little'magazines, creative writing workshops•considers the short story in relation to a variety of literary modes and trends such as realism, metafiction and minimalism, and to other forms, especially the novel and the lyric poem."

"The short story has become an increasingly important genre since the mid-nineteenth century. Complementing The Cambridge Introduction to the American Short Story, this book examines the development of the short story in Britain and other English-language literatures. It considers issues of form and style alongside - and often as part of - a broader discussion of publishing history and the cultural contexts in which the short story has flourished and continues to flourish. In its structure the book provides a chronological survey of the form, usefully grouping writers to show the development of the genre over time. Starting with Dickens and Kipling, the chapters cover key authors from the past two centuries and up to the present day. The focus on form, literary history, and cultural context, together with the highlighting of the greatest short stories and their authors, make this a stimulating and informative overview for all students of English literature."

"This new general introduction emphasises the importance of the short story to an understanding of modern fiction. In twenty succinct chapters, the study paints a complete portrait of the short story - its history, culture, aesthetics and economics."