Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Essays and short stories

 A second thought on Harold Bloom’s comment about contemplation having no place in short stories:

Among the wonders of Tobias Wolff’s novel Old School is this line, delivered by one of the school’s English masters, Mr. Ramsey:

One can imagine a world without essays … Stories, though — one could not live in a world without stories.

I’m not sure that’s right — at least not for me. But again, the point is taken. Stories can get to you in a way that essays don’t.

• Source: Tobias Wolff, Old School; New York: Vintage Books, 2003, p. 131

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