The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction

Abstract

This 6th edition features 16 commentaries written for the anthology by contemporary writer, to provide students with a sense of how fiction writers read their contemporaries and the classics. The Writers on section features 21 brief interviews and essays that illuminate the practice of writing fiction. Two pieces are new to this section: Gail Godwin on Becoming a Writer, and an interview with Doris Lessing. Contemporary writing (1980 and after) is represented 17 contemporary stories, 11 of them new, out of the 62 stories. The section on Talking About Fiction provides students with a brief introduction to the formal qualities of short fiction. General Questions in the introduction help students prepare themselves to respond to the stories they read. Writing Papers About Fiction, by Richard Bausch, refers back to Talking About Fiction and General Questions and helps students formulate a response and express it in a paper. When You Write About Fiction outlines the different levels of writing about fiction, from personal engagement to critical concentration. Writing Fiction should be useful in creative writing courses, or in courses in which creative, as well as critical, responses are required.

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