'The short story is at the very heart of our culture'
For years I have put off writing short stories and have written novels instead. And now I finally have the courage, because I believe the moment for short stories has come again. Why have they been in the doldrums? Why do we hear so much about novels and so little about short stories?...
After all, the short story is at the very heart of our culture...
We are all rushed, and it is said our attention span is growing shorter. On planes it seems people are mostly reading self-help books about how to deal with their short attention spans, if they are reading at all. Enter the short story. The very best, such as those of Jorge Luis Borges's, pack an astonishing punch...
In a short story, the author can take risks and step out into the unknown...'
Sally Emerson, journalist, travel writer and author of six novels, including Fire Child, Broken Bodies and Separation, three poetry anthologies and a volume of short stories, Perfect, Stories of the Impossible, to be published this month, in Bookbrunch (behind the paywall)
