tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147029108490505546.post2222826786984549587..comments2023-10-05T09:42:27.834-07:00Comments on Pamela Mordecai @ Jahworld: "...the world in a grain of sand..."clarabellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18046264094193801260noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147029108490505546.post-60046033255922704892008-09-12T19:11:00.000-07:002008-09-12T19:11:00.000-07:00Hi fsjl:So, I'm looking for something to sharpen m...Hi fsjl:<BR/><BR/>So, I'm looking for something to sharpen my teeth on, before I get into the big woes of the moment. I guess it's going to be, "How do you read short stories?" Thanks!clarabellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18046264094193801260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147029108490505546.post-33406876142394354862008-09-06T12:19:00.000-07:002008-09-06T12:19:00.000-07:00By 'how do we read short stories?' I mean in what ...By 'how do we read short stories?' I mean in what manner are they to be perceived -- as novels in miniature? (the word 'novel' after all was initially applied to the short tale rather than the extended one) as vignettes? as studies (in the sense of sketches)? or what?FSJLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15803079547494458258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147029108490505546.post-74159760233778885842008-09-05T18:22:00.000-07:002008-09-05T18:22:00.000-07:00fsjl: Yes, I agree that these are good things to e...fsjl: Yes, I agree that these are good things to explore. Two things: I'm not sure what you mean when you ask, "How do we read short stories?" And as for your question, "What price literature?" – obviously a price we're not prepared to pay! Why don't I do a post to consider your difficult question(s)? Coming up...clarabellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18046264094193801260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7147029108490505546.post-26995423863306196512008-09-05T09:56:00.000-07:002008-09-05T09:56:00.000-07:00You're raising about three kinds of questions here...You're raising about three kinds of questions here: (1) How do we read short stories? (2) what gives a short story (or any kind of story) its cultural/national particularity? (3) what price literature?<BR/><BR/>Those are all good questions. Let me throw a more difficult one back at you: How would you go about constructing a book of Caribbean short stories, should you be chosen as editor? Would you exclude John Hearne's description of a hurricane (which was in one collection of short stories I seem to recall) because it was an extract from a novel? Would you be willing to include folk-tales? How would you approach the translation question? (And would that include translation from Creole English vernaculars?)FSJLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15803079547494458258noreply@blogger.com