Department of English

This writing workshop is devoted to the shortest forms of fiction. Short-form fiction is any story under 1,000 or so words. We will consider the art of condensation, humor and brevity, sudden stories, prose poems, and microfiction. We’ll read a large array of arresting work written in both English and in English translation. Assigned readings will include the writing of Lydia Davis, Joy Williams, Kathryn Scanlan, Sawako Nakayasu, Garielle Lutz, Can Xue, Russell Edson, Daniil Kharms, and several others. Students will write several short fictions throughout the course of the semester to be workshopped in both small-group and full-class settings. By the end of the semester, students will compile a portfolio of short-form fiction as their final project.