‘Children of the Sea’, by Edwidge Danticat Read it here in about 30 minutes. In relation to the 2022 Winter Olympics, thinking about how we can use literature to protest… Danticat was born in Haiti, to Haitian parents, but later became an American citizen. Her short stories (I haven’t read any of her novels) generallyContinue reading “A short protest story”
Tag Archives: imagery
A short protest story
‘Condensed Milk’, by Varlam Shalamov (trans. John Glad) Read it here in 6 minutes. In relation to the 2022 Winter Olympics, thinking about how we can use literature to protest… Shalamov spent almost one-quarter of his life in Russian gulags (forced-labour camps), for being critical of, and protesting against, his own government. This story presumablyContinue reading “A short protest story”
A short story I recently read
‘Town of Birds’, by Heather Monley Read it here in about 10 minutes. Thinking about why I liked it… I love characters changing into animals, so was interested in this story from the first line, especially as that first line juxtaposes this unusual event with an unusual response: ‘In the town where the children turnedContinue reading “A short story I recently read”
A short story I recently read
‘And Later, His Ghost’, by Sarah Hall Read it here in about 30 minutes. Thinking about imagery as plot… I recently read Hall’s short story collection Madame Zero, in which this story features. It’s an unusual collection; the first and last stories seem to be about the same characters and event, but one takes aContinue reading “A short story I recently read”
A short story I recently read
Clementine, Carmelita, Dog by David Means Read it here in about 20 minutes (if you aren’t subscribed to Granta, you can still read about half of the story). Thinking about narrative perspective… I absolutely love this short story, partly because it’s told from the third-person limited point of view of a sausage dog, and partlyContinue reading “A short story I recently read”
A short story I recently read
‘The Elephant’, by Chan Chi Wa (translated by Audrey Heijins) Read it here, in less than 10 minutes. Thinking about how the story opens, and how readers are engaged… This short story begins with ‘After the elephant vanished, my life fell into chaos’. Perhaps the reader could imagine a circus owner saying something like thisContinue reading “A short story I recently read”
Mina Ma 