The American Short Story since 1950

The American Short Story since 1950 offers a reappraisal and contextualisation of a critically underrated genre during a particularly rich period in its history. It offers new readings of important stories by key writers including Flannery O'Connor, John Cheever, Donald Barthelme, Raymond Carver, Lorrie Moore and Grace Paley. These readings are related throughout to the various contexts in which stories are written and published, including creative writing schools, story-writing handbooks, mass market and 'little' magazines. A long introduction tells the story of the American short story before 1950. The first four chapters are roughly chronological, covering the major trends (such as realism, fabulism and minimalism) in short fiction from the 1950s to 2000. The fifth explores the implications for the short story of its association with creative writing education. The sixth deals with the short story sequence since 1950. A conclusion surveys the state of short fiction today.Key Featuresexplores a particularly rich period in the history of the short story offers close-readings of important stories by major writers including Flannery O'Connor, John Cheever, William Gass, Donald Barthelme, Raymond Carver, Denis Johnson, Junot Daz, Edward P. Jones, Grace Paley, Sherman Alexie, David Foster Wallace, Gish Jen, Lorrie Moore, David Bezmozgis and Lydia Davis draws on previously unpublished interviews with many of these writersexplores the contexts in which stories are written and published, including story-writing handbooks, mass market and 'little' magazines, creative writing workshops*considers the short story in relation to a variety of literary modes and trends such as realism, metafiction and minimalism, and to other forms, especially the novel and the lyric poem

“This impeccably researched account is accomplished in both a narrow and wider reading of the short story and its history. Sensitive to the nuances of meaning and effect in individual short stories, it is equally perceptive in its analysis of the broader historical and literary/cultural trends which influence short fiction, and which, in turn it has influenced... This is an invaluable introduction to this fertile period in American literature.”

Routledge ABES

Kasia Boddy teaches in the English Department at University College London. She is the author of Boxing: A Cultural History (2008) and numerous articles on American literature, and the co-editor of three anthologies.

BAAS PaperbacksSeries Editors: Simon Newman and Carol R. SmithPublished in association with the British Association for American Studies, this innovative series has become an indispensable collection in American Studies. Each volume tackles an important area and is written by an accepted academic expert within the discipline. Books selected for the series are clearly written introductions designed to offer students definitive short surveys of key topics in the field.The American Short Story Since 1950 offers a reappraisal of a critically underrated genre during a particularly rich period in its history. It is a book about some of the greatest postwar American writers, who consistently found in the short story a form well adapted to their most fundamental preoccupations, and about the literary cultures within which they wrote: the magazines they published in; the prizes they did or did not win; the university courses which taught them how to write, or enabled them to teach others how to write, and their (more often than not disappointing) sales figures. The book includes new readings of important stories by key writers including Flannery O'Connor, Eudora Welty, J.D. Salinger, John Cheever, Donald Barthelme, Grace Paley, Raymond Carver, Lorrie Moore, Tim O'Brien, Denis Johnson, Junot Daz, Sherman Alexie, Jhumpa Lahiri, David Bezmozgis, Edward P. Jones, David Foster Wallace, Gish Jen and Lydia Davis.explores a particularly rich period in the history of the short story draws on previously unpublished interviews with many of these writers.explores the contexts in which stories are written and published, including story-writing handbooks, mass market and 'little' magazines, creative writing workshopsconsiders the short story in relation to a variety of literary modes and trends such as realism, metafiction and minimalism, and to other forms, especially the novel and the lyric poemKasia Boddy teaches in the English Department at University College L

The American Short Story since 1950 offers a reappraisal and contextualisation of a critically underrated genre during a particularly rich period in its history. It offers new readings of important stories by key writers including Flannery O'Connor, John Cheever, Donald Barthelme, Raymond Carver, Lorrie Moore and Grace Paley. These readings are related throughout to the various contexts in which stories are written and published, including creative writing schools, story-writing handbooks, mass market and 'little' magazines. A long introduction tells the story of the American short story before 1950. The first four chapters are roughly chronological, covering the major trends (such as realism, fabulism and minimalism) in short fiction from the 1950s to 2000. The fifth explores the implications for the short story of its association with creative writing education. The sixth deals with the short story sequence since 1950. A conclusion surveys the state of short fiction today.Key Featuresexplores a particularly rich period in the history of the short story offers close-readings of important stories by major writers including Flannery O'Connor, John Cheever, William Gass, Donald Barthelme, Raymond Carver, Denis Johnson, Junot Daz, Edward P. Jones, Grace Paley, Sherman Alexie, David Foster Wallace, Gish Jen, Lorrie Moore, David Bezmozgis and Lydia Davis draws on previously unpublished interviews with many of these writersexplores the contexts in which stories are written and published, including story-writing handbooks, mass market and 'little' magazines, creative writing workshops*considers the short story in relation to a variety of literary modes and trends such as realism, metafiction and minimalism, and to other forms, especially the novel and the lyric poem

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