The short story has launched and inspired many a literary career. The daunting task of packing profound meaning within an economy of space has elicited enormous literary achievements in poetry and songwriting, and the short story is no exception. As Edgar Allen Poe once observed, “A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it.” In the hands of a capable wordsmith, the short story shines because less is more. In our October 15th dinner meeting, Kirk Glaser will guide us through the unique features and challenges of the short story and explain what makes it so rewarding.
Kirk Glaser is the director of creative writing and a senior lecturer at Santa Clara University. He earned his Ph.D. in American literature at the University of California, Berkeley, and his B.A. from Dartmouth College. Awards for his work include an American Academy of Poets prize, University of California Poet Laureate Award, Sundog Poetry Prize, and Chester H. Jones National Poetry Prize. His poetry and fiction have appeared in The Threepenny Review, Sou’wester, Cortland Review, Cerise Press, Alsop Review, Bloodroot Literary Magazine, Mobius, The Caribbean Review, Berkeley Poetry Review, and elsewhere. He has received numerous awards and fellowships for his work, including an American Academy of Poets prize, C. H. Jones National Poetry Prize, University of California Poet Laureate Award, Richard Eberhart Poetry Prize, and Summer Literary Seminars 2010 Fellowship.
