EL RELATO BREVE EN NORTEAMÉRICA (siglo XX)
-American short-story. Origin and evolution of the genre. A word on Edgar Allan Poe
and his “Philosophy of Composition.” Close endings, effect and impact. Instances of
this.
-Short-story theories. Borderline cases. First-Person Short Stories and Narrative Essays.
Problems in definition.
-Evolution of the genre. The psychological short-story. A review of the works of Willa
Cather and Henry James.
-Evolution of the genre. A word on Stephen Crane. Naturalism and Journalism.
Towards realism. Sherwood Anderson, Ernest Hemingway. Scott Fitzgerald and the
Fiction of Manners.
-Social Realism, Magical Realism, Minimalism. City life and the suburbs. The role of
The New Yorker. J. D. Salinger, John Cheever, John Updike, William Maxwell,
Raymond Carver, Ann Beattie.
-Experiments with the form. The work of Joyce Carol Oates, Katherine Anne Porter and
Flannery O’Connor.
-A word on Metafiction and Deconstruction. Stories by Donald Barthelme, John Barth,
Thomas Pynchon and Robert Coover.
Readings:
-Willa Cather: “Paul´s Case: A Study in Temperament.”
-Henry James: “The Jolly Corner.”
-Ernest Hemingway: “Soldier´s Home,” “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macowber.”
-Scott Fitzgerald: “Bernice Bobs Her Hair.”
-J.D. Salinger: “Teddy,” “A Perfect Day for Bananafish.”
-John Cheever: “The Swimmer.”
-William Maxwell: “The Pilgrimage.”
-Raymond Carver: “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” “Will You
Please Be Quiet, Please.”
-Joyce Carol Oates: “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”
-Katherine Anne Porter: “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall.”
-Flannery O´Connor: “The Displaced Person.”
-John Barth: “Life-Story.”
-Robert Coover: “The Babysitter.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Allen, Walter. The Short Story in English. Oxford. Clarendon Press, 1981.
Battacharya, Rimli. Narrative Patterns in the 19th Century Short Story. UMI
Dissertation Services, 1986.
Hanson, Clare (e d.) Re-reading the Short Story. New York, St. Martin´s Press, 1989.
McClave, Heather. Women Writers of the Short Story. New Jersey. Prentice-Hall, 1980.
Oates, Joyce Carol. The Oxford Book of American Short Stories. O.U.P., 1995.
Reid, Ian. The Short Story: A Critical Introduction. London. Routledge, 1977.
Shaw Valerie. The Short Story: A Critical Introduction. London. Longman, 1983.
Stevick, Philip (e d.) The American Short-Story, 1900-1945. Twayne, 1984.
Weaver, Gordon (e d.) The American Short-Story, 1945-1980. Twayne, 1983.