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Persea Books

Short: An International Anthology of Five Centuries of Short-Short Stories, Prose Poems, Brief Essays, and Other Short Prose Forms

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Description

Short offers the tradition and glorious present of these popular forms that stretch and defy genre. From 1500 to present, hundreds of pieces. Inventive, entertaining, and addictive. Short prose forms are elusive to define--one writer's prose poem is another's flash fiction or brief essay. Rather than quibble, Short opts for inclusiveness. Here is a dazzling array: 100s of pieces (under 1250 words) from 24 Western countries, written over five centuries by more than 200 contributors, including major authors of every era. Fables, histories, aphorisms, anecdotes, faux dictionary entries, a faux job application, hint fiction, lists, tableaus, meditations, chants, rants, and much more. Intensely pleasurable. Contributors include: Montaigne, von Kleist, Leopardi, Poe, Baudelaire, Bierce, Chopin, Stein, Jacob, Woolf, Kafka, J. Roth, Toomer, Borges, Queneau, Kunitz, Beckett, Milosz, Cortazar, Paz, Barthes, Calvino, O'Hara, Merwin, Lispector, Transtromer, Sanchez, Edson, Simic, Atwood, Valenzuela, Wideman, L. Davis, Komunyakaa, A. Carson, Forche, Harjo, Hempel, Wenderoth, Keret, B. Marcus, A. Bender, Eggers, B. Lerner, T. Brimhall. Read more


Publisher ‏ : ‎ Persea; 1st edition (March 26, 2014)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 4


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 24


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.3 ounces


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.3 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #210,664 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #349 in Rhetoric (Books) #2,145 in Short Stories Anthologies #12,194 in Literary Fiction (Books)


#349 in Rhetoric (Books):


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Tastefully done.
Review Image by Stephen M. Page Stephen M. Page
An erudite historical examination of the evolution of short form literature with persuasive explanations and effective examples.
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2023 by Stephen M. Page Stephen M. Page
    • 353 page treasure chest
Review Image by Lawrence Pluto Lawrence Pluto
Gem after glittering gem! I have purchased this book at least three times. It is my favorite flash anthology because it features some of the best bits of quick fiction from the last 500+ years. Every time i open it--another literary treasure. I am so thankful I found this book!
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2022 by Lawrence Pluto Lawrence Pluto
    • Fragments
Ambiguous literary selections are fragmented without much reasoning or explanation for why they were selected. Leaves a strange and not-entirely-interesting impression. I suppose five centuries of International prose, Etc.. in one anthology is an extremely high order. Still, I am somewhat lost in navigating the book pieces. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2021 by MW
    • Taxonomy and Gemstones-- Short is a valuable anthology
Short fills a niche that other short fiction collections have missed. Ziegler eschews many of the canonical short fiction texts for numerous gems, many of which are seemingly unclassifiable (and thus may have been overlooked by previous anthologists). Most helpful is the taxonomy of short fiction types that he provides at the end of the collection (along with cross references to the shorts published in this anthology). I used this anthology extensively in a seminar I recently taught on prose poetry, and found that it opened up new approaches to that particular "form" and encouraged the seminar attendees to explore avenues of literature they hadn't considered before. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2015 by Temple Cone
    • A bit disappointing
I was a bit disappointed in this anthology. It covers the territory, but I was not drawn in to many of the chosen pieces.
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2021 by Auntie Annie
    • Full of treasures
This much-needed anthology of short prose is sure to become a classic. In researching this volume, Alan Ziegler has cast his net wide to collect samples of short-form prose from different eras and different parts of the world. With entries spanning the 16th through the 20th centuries, on topics ranging from politics to gardening to heavy machinery, the book offers a grand tour of the short form. "Short" is as appropriate for the general reader as it is for use in writing and literature classes. I've bought several copies as gift for friends who have kids and very little time to read. A fascinating and very enjoyable book. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2014 by Laura Brown
    • Great Collection for Learning How to Write Short
I'm studying on my own to learn how to write flash and other short fiction and nonfiction. This book, comprised of short works over centuries, is a good place to learn the art of brevity. I don't particularly like a lot of the writings, but they have all taught me about writing short. Best of all, none of them take a long time to read! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2019 by Carol Buchanan
    • A must for readers, writers, teachers of writing, and givers of presents
In the beginning was the Word. And it was short because it took all day to write in stone. Alan Ziegler is a discerning connoisseur of short writing, and with this book, he has given us a fantastic gift, one that is packed with surprise, delight, inspiration, and brilliance from the whole dang space-time continuum. No matter where you dive in, you'll surface with a gem. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2014 by patricia

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