The American Short Story, with Michael Gorra (photo: Smith College). From top left: Charles Chesnutt, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, Sarah Orne Jewett, Edith Wharton, John Cheever, Henry James, and Eudora Welty (Public Domain)
This fall, acclaimed scholar and critic Michael Gorra invites you on a journey through America’s signature literary form. Focusing on eight of its greatest practitioners, this four-part online course will explore the American short story: its origins, recurring themes, and fascinating evolution.
Beginning with nineteenth-century pathbreakers Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne and culminating with postwar masters Eudora Welty and John Cheever, the course will discuss along the way a local color masterpiece by Sarah Orne Jewett, the “Post-Bellum–Pre-Harlem” genius of Black author Charles W. Chesnutt, and the Gilded Age flowering of the genre in the supreme achievements of Henry James and Edith Wharton.
Inspired by the two-volume LOA edition The American Short Story, edited by John Stauffer, the class makes the case that the modest short story, designed originally for popular readership in newspapers and magazines, holds a key to our country’s literary greatness.
The American Short Story
with Michael Gorra
Four sessions: Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1, Oct. 8
Sessions will be held weekly on Thursday evenings from 6 to 7:15 p.m. ET. The class will be recorded and shared with registrants to watch anytime.
Or go to: rebrand.ly/GorraStories
Course fee: $200 (includes a coupon for 40% off selected LOA volumes connected to this course)
LOA Members get the special discount rate of $150. Learn more about the perks of becoming an LOA Member.
Sessions will take place on Zoom and last 75 minutes. Attendees are encouraged to share questions in advance and during the class. Michael Gorra will send a follow-up e-mail after each meeting with reflections on the class discussion, suggestions for further reading, and a recording of the full session. Space is limited and registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Certificates of Completion for LOA online courses are available on request. Please contact support@loa.org for more information.
Scholarships
LOA is committed to making our programming accessible to as many people as possible.
If the cost to attend this course presents a hardship, or you are a teacher interested in attending for professional development, we are pleased to offer a number of scholarship places at a reduced rate. For more information and to request a tuition waiver, please e-mail support@loa.org.
If you would like to support Library of America’s online programming and help sponsor a reduced-rate scholarship for a deserving student or teacher, please consider making a $50 donation at checkout on Eventbrite or reach out to support@loa.org.
Course registrants will receive a coupon for 40% off any of the following books:
- The American Short Story: The Nineteenth Century (two volumes; also available separately)
- Edgar Allan Poe: Selected Tales, with The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym (Paperback)
- Charles W. Chesnutt: Stories, Novels, and Essays
- The Collected Stories of Edith Wharton (two volumes; also available separately)
- Eudora Welty: Stories, Essays, & Memoir
Please note: Due to the high cost of international delivery, we are unable to ship books outside the US and its territories.
