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MorphologiesShort Story Writers on Short Story WritersEdited by Ra Page
Categories: 19th Century, 20th Century, American, Anthologies, Austrian, British, German, Irish, Russian, Translation
Imprint: Comma Press Publisher: Comma Press Available as:
SARA MAITLAND on NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE SEAN O'BRIEN on EDGAR ALLAN POE JANE ROGERS on FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY BRIAN ALDISS on THOMAS HARDY MARTIN EDWARDS on ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE FRANK COTTRELL BOYCE on ANTON CHEKHOV ADAM ROBERTS on RUDYARD KIPLING STEPHEN BAXTER on H.G. WELLS STUART EVERS on SHERWOOD ANDERSON ALI SMITH on JAMES JOYCE TOBY LITT on FRANZ KAFKA DAVID CONSTANTINE on D.H. LAWRENCE ALISON MACLEOD on KATHERINE MANSFIELD RAMSEY CAMPBELL on H.P. LOVECRAFT SIMON VAN BOOY on F. SCOTT FITZGERALD What makes for a good short story? Being short, you might think the story's structure would yield an answer to this question more readily than, say, the novel. But for as long as the short story has been around, arguments have raged as to what it should and shouldn't be made up of, what it should and shouldn't do. Here ,15 leading contemporary practitioners offer structural appreciations of past masters of the form as well as their own perspectives on what the short story does so well. The best short stories don't have closure, argues one contributor, 'because life doesn't have closure'; 'plot must be written with the denouement constantly in view,' quotes another. Covering a century of writing that arguably saw all the major short forms emerge, from Hawthorne's 'Twice Told Tales' to Kafka's modernist nightmares, these essays offer new and unique inroads into classic texts, both for the literature student and aspiring writer.
Awards won by Ra Page
Winner, 2012 Financial Times Book of the Year
(Shi Cheng)
'It might have been of interest to these pre-Mansfield masters to learn that there was a hidden country of prose out there; great short story writers, then and now, create countries of their own.'
Michael Caines writing about Morphologies in the TLS blog 'A worthy addition to the immense collection of criticism.' The Guardian Praise for Ra Page 'Read this book.' Liz Lochhead 'An agreeably accomplished collection populated, as promised, by some intriguing characters.' City Life 'Get with the zeitgeist and buy yourself a copy of Bracket.' Leeds Guide 'Fills you with hope for the form.' Time Out 'Short fiction is in good hands.' The Independent 'If we need the uncanny --and I suspect we do -- then we also need it updating... laudable.' Book of the Week, The Independent 'A masterclass in understated creepiness... a deliciously macabre collection that the old Austrian might well have enjoyed.' Book of the Week, Time Out 'Delightful and disturbing.' The Independent on Sunday 'It's not too great a stretch to see Comma as the literary equivalent of Factory Records.' The Herald 'An inspiring tribute to inquiring minds.' The Guardian 'A very alive, illuminating and good-natured collection.' The Observer 'The pairings work brilliantly, giving stereoscopic vision... ingenious... unfailingly interesting.' The Independent 'Exquisite... delectable.' New Scientist 'There is something about the defiance of language in this story.' China Daily 'On balance, [the editors] perform a valuable service in making these rich, varied and rewarding stories known to a western audience, for all that the politics of cultural engagement remain fraught.' Financial Times 'These stories tell us how the lives of these cities and citizens, or peasants-turned-citizens, are being tempered. The stories seem to say that one has to go through the fires of hell to reach some different stage of existence.' The Independent 'Shi Cheng is a sort of mind map of both modern China, and also of what itâs like to be human.' Asian Books Blog 'An exhilarating read.' The Short Review 'Fascinating reading.' Financial Times 'Works brilliantly... ingenious... unfailingly interesting.' The Independent, Book of the Week 'Exquisite... delectable' New Scientist. |
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