Take a quick scan on any table in a bookstore and you’ll see that the short story collection is having a renaissance. These bite-sized literary gems have the ability to push boundaries, explore themes, and take abrupt twists that the long-form novel just can’t navigate. The short story is the hummingbird, turning on a dime, and always surprising the reader in the direction it manages to go. In this class, we’ll explore some of the classic short story writers (Anton Chekhov, Ernest Hemingway, Flannery O’Connor) as well as some of the modern masters (Amy Hempel, Sherman Alexie, Lorrie Moore, Stephen King). Students will also be expected to write and revise their own short story over the course of the semester.

Corequisite: Students are required to attend all Literature Evenings and Poetry at Bennington events (typically held on Wednesdays at 7:00pm).