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ABSTRACT
This teaching note considers the benefits of including very short stories or “flash fiction” in the (Canadian) literature classroom. Because the genre is relatively new and favors brevity, it can be attractive to students. Teachers can be sure the students will have read the story, or even find the time to have them read entire stories in class. As well, choosing very short works lets us introduce a variety of Canadian authors to our students. We begin by questioning the dominance of context-hunting and theme-searching among young readers, and point out that this mode of reading comes at the expense of an appreciation or serious consideration of form and language. While historical context and themes are of course important to understanding any story, students often privilege the extra-textual over the literary merits of fiction; they are not necessarily reading literature as literature. The latter part of the note zeroes in on classroom experiences we have had while teaching stories by John Gould, Carin Makuz and Douglas Glover.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Geneviève Susemihl and Grit Alter for comments on the paper.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1. Hummel and Lenox provide an extensive “Chart of short-form terms,” running from “anecdotes” through “koans” to “napkin stories” (Citation2019, 12). For a succinct look at how flash fiction and the distilled world of social media converge, see Michael Rudin’s “From Hemingway to Twitterature: The Short and Shorter of It” (Citation2011); for ideas on in-class creative exercises that help teach young readers about point of view, symbolism, and story structure, see Kim Culbertson’s 100-Word Stories: A Short Form for Expansive Writing (Citation2024).
2. Kaur is often discussed by the literati “with condescension at best. Yet her poems resonate with so many people” (Zapruder Citation2023, 96). She fills stadia and, one hopes, spurs especially young readers to read literature every day. To quote a fellow teacher and sibling: “Can you name another poet who can fill stadiums?”
3. For a snapshot of Egan’s original notes and a movie-style announcement of the Twitter version of the story about “about a woman on a secret mission, posing as a brainless beauty, adrift in hostile waters.” See The New Yorker (Citation2012). https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/coming-soon-jennifer-egans-black-box.
4. This update and the accompanying illustration are available at: https://atbaypress.com/books/detail/statusupdate. We thank George Toles for allowing us to quote from his book.
5. Gould has proven himself a master of flash fiction. His (Citation2003) collection Kilter: 55 Fictions was nominated for the Giller Prize. The title is a clear nod to Jorge Luis Borges and his miniature Fictions.
6. Students pointed out ambiguity—that “unheralded gift of brevity” (Faulkner Citation2023a, 19)—the narrator seems overly careful not to be racist, which may or may not be legitimate. As some observed, the phrase “Not that I have anything against…” is a typical signal of having something against an individual or group.
7. The students were second-year university English majors; similar tasks were carried out with a high school audience of 14–18-year olds.
8. “The Girl Across the Street” is quoted in full with permission from Guernica Editions.
9. If context or background overdetermines an interpretation, the literary aspect of the story is relegated as themes and content and context rise. For example, if students know the ethnicity of the author, they tend to explore only ethnic themes as they interpret (sometimes overlooking humor and irony). This penchant for theme-spotting spills into book reviews. The many positive reviews of Zalika Reid-Benta’s Frying Plantain highlight identity in gender and ethnic terms, as well as the in-betweenness of growing up in both Canada and Jamaica. Such reviews damned the sparkling collection with solely thematic praise. Few reviewers pointed out the fecundity of the linked stories, the first of which begins “On my first visit to Jamaica I saw a pig’s severed head” (Reid-Benta Citation2019, 7).
10. Douglas Glover has a series of microfictions available at: https://douglasglover.substack.com/
11. The underlying violence adds a grotesque element to “Little Things,” while reminding us of how literature—especially genre literature such as murder mysteries—gives us a comfortable distance. If we were to witness actual murders, trauma, not vicarious pleasure, would be the result.