When the fact of the land is no longer a fact

by Christopher Benson

Today I’m going to reflect on a passage from Willa Cather’s achingly beautiful novel, O Pioneers! (1913), a title inspired by Walt Whitman’s poem. The Library of America offers a short description of the book in case you’re not familiar with it:O Pioneers! is the story of a . . . . Continue Reading »

15 Jun 2010 0

25 Favorite Short Stories

by Joe Carter

In his Devil’s Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce defined a novel as “a short story padded.” This is an all too apt description. The inability to prune a story to its essential story is an unfortunate quality shared by many modern writers and the primary reason that bookshelves are filled with . . . . Continue Reading »

27 Nov 2009 0