Art of the Short Story, The

I had to get this for a class but I have greatly enjoyed reading the short stories within even after I had finish the class.

I purchased this book under duress.. my Critique Group, a writing group, decided to explore some literary writing to perfect our craft. Now, most of the world never reads literary writing, (so sorry, look it up) though many more do talk of it... I grew up from grammar school through college reading ONLY literary writing. So I was well fatigued with it by the time I finished. I had found my way to more colloquial genre novels, and of course, real history, and almost every non-fiction topic under the sun from newly revealed truths on American History to Stephen Hawkings, then back to Fiction: Dumas to Dorian Gray, Ellery Queen to Burning Loins novels... all such fun so I kept doing it and also began to write for work which led to writing for social purposes (fund raising, save the whales, politics) but writing, as it turned out is something I need to do.As I opened up this book (still under duress, just following along to get it over with) and found the first five choices - new to all the other writers - but I had read, several times for most. Not happy about that but I did what I was supposed to do... and got a shock! What one reads at age 16-20 or so, even when it is the same story, is NOT the same story at age 40 or 50! Now, this time around the focus was on reading to ascertain the magic - or lack of it - in each story and to specifically examine the craft... To quantify the why and the how... and while doing that I understood that these particular writers were each brilliant in their own ways. I appreciated that expression, the elusive "running to keep up with the muse" I GOT IT! Our goal was well fulfilled.. to examine techniques of the best writers.. it is worth the time even if you hate the story.So my advice is read the stories, you'll hate some, like some and think nothing of quite a few... but if you're a reader or a writer You'll find Magic. If you're not, you'll be updated with a lot of the classics and have great cocktail conversation if you can find anyone that reads Literary Fiction! SO Worth It.

if you only buy one short-story anthology, this should be it! all the classics are in here. i was specifically looking for: A Rose for Emily; The Yellow Wallpaper; The Lottery; A Good Man Is Hard to Find; To Build a Fire; The Necklace; The Rocking-Horse Winner. this book offered all these and so much more: international writers, their short bios, and their own insightful essays, as well as instructional essays on plot, character, point of view, setting, theme, style. this book is an incredible value. i considered several different anthologies, and also did some requesting from our local library, but it is easiest to own this one awesome anthology.i had a couple of excellent english teachers in high school 30 years ago who taught me what to look for. thank God (literally), because now i have a 10th grader in "honors" english with a teacher who made assignments optional. everyone gets an "A," as long as their "learning logs" (personal evaluations) are signed. not only that, the entire curriculum is the holocaust...for the entire year. i kid you not. equally troubling, for this critical and significant topic, they assign only one novella (Night, by Elie Wiesel) but THREE films (The Book Thief; The Boy in the Striped Pajamas; Life Is Beautiful). I thought to myself, "What can I do?" so i met with the principal, met with the teacher, and then remembered everything i learned in 10th grade and bought this book. my sophomore even thinks its an awesome book! i thank God she is not fooled by the confused standards of our local public high school and is willing to work on her own outside of class.

... and for what I write.Gioia is primarily a poet, and this book I believe is used as an anthology in English classes. But it's too inexpensive for that and I'm not sure why — I got it for $17 new from here — but I didn't wait to ask, either.Key differences in this approach to short fiction anthology include a personable and interesting approach to each author's bio, as well as each author speaking to us on the nature and craft of story. The stories themselves are oft-anthologized — which is one reason I think this is used in classes; you have to include the Canonical Big Guns, right? — but others are new enough. And by including less-well-known authors, you get greater variety without sacrificing the necessaries.One cool aspect of the book for readers who are not formal students, is there are 52 authors here. You can read one or two a week for a year or six months, and kind of self-organize your syllabus to your schedule; I mean there's a system, so you can approach this with some structure to it, if you wish.And the authors are anthologized alphabetically — no playing favorites!Ps / Read Gioia's poetry, too.

Beautifully written short stories from the greats.

Gostei do livro. As histórias são muito interessantes e é possível aprender muito com elas. Gostei especialmente da história de Shirley Jackson e de Joyce Carol Oates.

I looked this book up through the recommendation of Neil Gaiman's Masterclass and have to say it's a very useful and informative work. You get to see a selection of writer's views and examine their processes, which as learning writer is incredibly useful. Very accessible and well written.

This is a great collection of short stories by authors from across the world. Also has a biography of each author and a write up of their view on story writing. Interesting for all and useful for literature enthusiasts.

The book was in the condition that was stated.

Great for lovers of the short story. Both readers and writers can enjoy the selection of authors' stories and their interesting essays on how they wrote them.