Close



Size: 6.00 x 9.25
Pages: 212
Illustrations:

Literary Studies
World Literature
paperback
Books
Back to previous page

The Art of Brevity

Excursions in Short Fiction Theory and Analysis

edited by Per Winther, Jakob Lothe, and Hans H. Skei

Paperback
978-1-61117-045-0
Published: Jul 28 2011

$24.99

Hardcover

Published:

Ebook

Published:

OA Ebook

Published:

$0.00

The inclusion of this book in the Open Carolina collection is made possible by the generous funding of

Refreshing, inclusive approaches to the theory and practice of short fiction

The Art of Brevity gathers fresh ideas about the theory and writing of short fiction from around the globe to produce an international, inclusive exploration of the steadily growing field of short story studies. While Anglo-American scholars have served as the primary developers of contemporary short story theory since the field's inception in the 1960s, this volume adds the contributions of scholars living in other parts of the world. Such Anglo-American pioneers as Mary Rohrberger, Charles E. May, Susan Lohafer, and John Gerlach join with short fiction scholars at universities in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Canada to build academic bridges and expand the field, geographically as well as conceptually.

Contributors weave together themes of time, space, compression, mystery, reader response, and narrative closure. They discuss writers as varied as Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Sarah Orne Jewett, James Joyce, Franz Kafka, Ernest Hemingway, Mavis Gallant, Flannery O'Connor, Eudora Welty, Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, and Robert Olen Butler. Among the less familiar topics they investigate are the Australian tall tale, the nineteenth-century queer story, and contemporary Danish "short shorts."




Per Winther is a professor emeritus of American literature at the University of Oslo, the author of The Art of John Gardner: Instruction and Exploration, and the coauthor of Less Is More: Short Fiction Theory and Analysis.

Jakob Lothe is a professor of English literature at the University of Oslo. His books include Narrative in Fiction and Film, Conrad's Narrative Method, and Literary Landscapes: From Modernism to Postcolonialism.

Hans H. Skei is a professor of comparative literature at the University of Oslo and the author of three books on Faulkner's achievement: William Faulkner: The Short Story Career; William Faulkner: The Novelist as Short Story Writer; and Reading Faulkner's Best Short Stories.

"A basic tenet of the book is that the short storyor rather, 'short fiction'is not simply a shorter form of the novel but instead a distinct form with its own set of principles. . . . Those interested in a stimulating overview and in-depth treatment of this surprisingly vast field will benefit by reading this well-researched volume. Highly recommended."—Choice

"The Art of Brevity brings together in one place many of the world's leading authorities on the oft-neglected genre of the short story. A supremely engaging and enlightening collection of essays, it is distinguished for placing the views of the leading American scholars in an international critical-theoretic context, achieving thereby a highly illuminating dialogue indeed."—Gerald Lynch, Department of English, University of Ottawa, and author of The One and the Many: English-Canadian Short Story Cycles

"This important collection of essays will give new impetus and energy to the field of short fiction theory. Bringing together Anglo-American and Nordic critics, the book expands the field in both geographical and conceptual ways. The contributors forge new links between a range of theoretical perspectives and cultural contexts, and map exciting new territories for exploration. Essential reading."—Clare Hanson, Department of English and Drama, Loughborough University, author of Short Stories and Short Fictions, 1880–1980, and editor of Re-Reading the Short Story

"As a fiction writer and critic, I find this collection of original essays to be the kind of exploration of the nature of the short story that I have been looking for. I seek a variety of approaches; I crave a style that is informal, devoid of stilted academic jargon, and discussions that are as stimulating and enjoyable to intelligent students and non-students as to academics. I imagine other readers will be as satisfied as I am. What I have not been seeking but am delighted to find in this collection is a joint effort of Scandinavian and American critics, who conduct strong, insightful, and useful excursions into an international group of master storytellers."—David Madden, Department of English, Louisiana State University, and author of two short story collections and Revising Fiction

Books, News & Resources!

Sign up to receive updates on new books, promotions, and USC Press news.