Comments on: Where Have All the Short Works of Literature Gone? http://su4roth.wordpress.com/2008/04/07/where-have-all-the-short-works-of-literature-gone/ Susquehanna University's Weblog of Book Reviews, Literary Criticism, and the Like. Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:58:47 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: kate http://su4roth.wordpress.com/2008/04/07/where-have-all-the-short-works-of-literature-gone/#comment-39 kate Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:03:48 +0000 http://su4roth.wordpress.com/?p=20#comment-39 Are chain bookstores refusing to stock novellas, or are publishers backing away from buying and printing them? What does this say about us as readers and consumers? Many literary journals publish short fiction, but chain bookstores don't stock many journals, either. Are chain bookstores refusing to stock novellas, or are publishers backing away from buying and printing them? What does this say about us as readers and consumers?
Many literary journals publish short fiction, but chain bookstores don’t stock many journals, either.

]]> By: jill http://su4roth.wordpress.com/2008/04/07/where-have-all-the-short-works-of-literature-gone/#comment-38 jill Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:12:36 +0000 http://su4roth.wordpress.com/?p=20#comment-38 It's clear all around that the short story is dying. I was most fascinated by the eternal gripers of the rejection blog who came up with <a href="http://literaryrejectionsondisplay.blogspot.com/2008/02/one-rejected-writers-manifesto-listen.html" rel="nofollow">some depressing figures on this</a>. I don't think the situation is good right now and it will need a miraculous recovery. Can blogs do it somehow? I hope so. Yes, there are some collections and yes there are a lot of little journals, but - so what? Getting your story in a journal will not entail anything. It won't mean a lot of people will read it. So what's the point? Short stories are dead. It’s clear all around that the short story is dying. I was most fascinated by the eternal gripers of the rejection blog who came up with some depressing figures on this. I don’t think the situation is good right now and it will need a miraculous recovery. Can blogs do it somehow? I hope so.

Yes, there are some collections and yes there are a lot of little journals, but – so what? Getting your story in a journal will not entail anything. It won’t mean a lot of people will read it. So what’s the point?

Short stories are dead.

]]> By: SJL http://su4roth.wordpress.com/2008/04/07/where-have-all-the-short-works-of-literature-gone/#comment-37 SJL Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:48:08 +0000 http://su4roth.wordpress.com/?p=20#comment-37 Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain got out of the collection and published on its own after the film was made. .... And there's a lovely novella translated from Italian called "Silk", I think by Baricco that you may want to try. There's no shortage of great short works out there but I agree that there seems to be a lack of heart in promoting them. I run a secondhand bookstore so will admit to an element of bias at times against the "commodity" approach of some of the chain bookstores and the lack of range/depth behind the apparently full shelves. Go to our nearest one and taking a look at the C20th poetry is a big disappointment - multiple copies of around 20 authors but no real depth - in the same shelfspace we might have 200 authors represented! Annie Proulx’s Brokeback Mountain got out of the collection and published on its own after the film was made. …. And there’s a lovely novella translated from Italian called “Silk”, I think by Baricco that you may want to try.

There’s no shortage of great short works out there but I agree that there seems to be a lack of heart in promoting them.

I run a secondhand bookstore so will admit to an element of bias at times against the “commodity” approach of some of the chain bookstores and the lack of range/depth behind the apparently full shelves. Go to our nearest one and taking a look at the C20th poetry is a big disappointment – multiple copies of around 20 authors but no real depth – in the same shelfspace we might have 200 authors represented!

]]> By: Nancy http://su4roth.wordpress.com/2008/04/07/where-have-all-the-short-works-of-literature-gone/#comment-36 Nancy Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:04:22 +0000 http://su4roth.wordpress.com/?p=20#comment-36 check out my blog, Another Writer's Space, and read my post today- it might interest you based on your post here. check out my blog, Another Writer’s Space, and read my post today- it might interest you based on your post here.

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