outline_us_lit

Live (1985), David Leavitt’s FamilyDancing (l984), Richard Ford’sRock Springs (l987), Bobbie AnnMason’s Shiloh and Other Stories(1982), and Lorrie Moore’s Self-Help (l985). Other noteworthy figuresinclude the late Andre Dubus,author of Dancing After Hours(l996), and the prolific JohnUpdike, whose recent story collectionsinclude The Afterlife andOther Stories (l994).Today, as is discussed later inthis chapter, writers with ethnicand global roots are informing thestory genre with non-Western andtribal approaches, and storytellinghas commanded critical and popularattention. The versatile, primaltale is the basis of severalhybridized forms: novels that areconstructed of interlinking shortstories or vignettes, and creativenonfictions that interweave historyand personal history with fiction.The Short Short Story:Sudden or Flash FictionThe short short is a very briefstory, often only one or two pageslong. It is sometimes called “flashfiction” or “sudden fiction” afterthe l986 anthology Sudden Fiction,edited by Robert Shapard andJames Thomas.In short short stories, there islittle space to develop a character.Rather, the element of plot is central:A crisis occurs, and asketched-in character simply has toreact. Authors deploy clever narrativeor linguistic patterns; in somecases, the short short resembles aRAYMOND CARVERPhoto © Marion Ettlinger /CORBIS OUTLINEprose poem.Supporters claim that shortshorts’ “reduced geographies”mirror postmodern conditions inwhich borders seem closer together.They find elegant simplicity inthese brief fictions. Detractors seeshort shorts as a symptom of culturaldecay, a general loss of readingability, and a limited attentionspan. In any event, short shortshave found a certain niche: Theyare easy to forward in an e-mail,and they lend themselves to electronicdistribution. They make manageablein-class readings and modelsfor writing assignments.DramaContemporary drama minglesrealism with fantasy in postmodernworks that fuse the personal andthe political. The exuberant TonyKushner (l956- ) has won acclaimfor his prize-winning Angels inAmerica plays, which vividly renderthe AIDS epidemic and the psychiccost of closeted homosexuality inthe 1980s and 1990s. Part One:Millennium Approaches (1991) andits companion piece, Part Two:Perestroika (1992), together lastseven hours. Combining comedy,melodrama, political commentary,and special effects, they interweavevarious plots and marginalizedcharacters.Women dramatists have attainedparticular success in recent years.Prominent among them is BethHenley (1952- ), from Mississippi,known for her portraits of southernwomen. Henley gained national139