Current Series Catalogue

Short Fiction:
The Perfect Form
A Reading the Arts Series

As a genre of fiction, the short story is what has been called the perfect form. The short story does not have the luxury of words the novel enjoys, and so must build its foundations in a manner than can be almost poetic.

While a novel can spend pages describing various settings, the short story must of necessity confine those descriptions to paragraphs. What this creates is often a concise, image-dense, complete tale that leaves readers both satisfied and wanting more.

Explore the world of "less is more" with a variety of short stories which demonstrate the short fiction writer's art.

Sessions will include tips and writing exercises on how to write effective short fiction using the stories explored in the series.

Points of View: An Anthology of Short Stories, James Moffett & Kenneth McElheny, editors

Who knows the truth?
The effect of narrative voice on the reader's understanding.
"My Side of the Matter" by Truman Capote
"The Five-Forty-Eight" by John Cheever
"The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Could this happen here?
How writers manipulate their readers with setting.
"Fever Flower" by Shirley Ann Grau
"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson
"Act of Faith" by Irwin Shaw

How do we grow up?
The initiation archetype in short form.
"My Sister's Marriage" by Cynthia Marshall Rich
"A & P" by John Updike
"The Stone Boy" by Gina Berriault

Who knows what goes on in a woman's mind?
Stories from the inside.
"But the One on the Right" by Dorothy Parker
"The Lady's Maid" by Katherine Mansfield
"María Concepción" by Katherine Anne Porter

What is the truth?
Themes in short fiction.
"Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
"On Saturday Afternoon" by Alan Sillitoe
"The Use of Force" by William Carlos Williams

Request this series online.