Product Description
Chapters: Flyer News, the Oberlin Review, Uweekly, Southeast Ohio Magazine, the Lantern, Xavier Newswire, the Carroll News, Bg News, Kenyon Collegian. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 28. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Flyer News, also known as fn, is the independent student newspaper of the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. It was first published October 21, 1959 and is now published twice a week while classes are in session, for a total of 40 issues per academic year. Currently, 5,000 copies of each issue are distributed throughout campus. Each issue is 12 to 16 pages long and includes four to five sections: news, Propeller (a feature section, not in every issue), arts and entertainment, opinions and sports. The history of the student press at the University of Dayton starts with The Exponent, which began publication in 1902. The Exponent was more literary magazine than newspaper. It was published annually at first, then monthly. Over time, The Exponent expanded its mission to include news, particularly during World War I, but it reverted to a literary magazine with the introduction of The University of Dayton News in 1933. This paper was published every two weeks. The Exponent lasted into the early 1960s as a literary magazine. The University of Dayton News newspaper became a four-page broadsheet in 1935. It was discontinued in 1944, partly to save paper during World War II, and was restored in 1946, still a broadsheet published once every two weeks. The paper continued on that basis until February 1955. At that time, the newspaper changed printers to a non-union shop to allow students to help with production and to save money. The new printer could not handle broadsheet pages, and The University of Dayton News would not fit across the top of a tabloid page, so the name ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=10266641 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Lots of self-indulgence, little theory
I am reluctant to criticize a book that has been put together with intelligence and dedication. But that, in part, is the book's tragedy. What exactly are all these obviously intelligent and dedicated men and women studying? Jarrell's rambling essay is symptomatic of the entire effort. As is his imprecise use of language. For example: "A story is a chain of events" (p. 7). Really, Mr. Jarrell? So is literature another word for physics? In many of the essays (Jarell, Poe, Matthews, Pratt....), one dubious claim is piled upon the next, personal prejudice is made to dance as general fact, and personal opinion-- some reasonable-- masquerades as theory. Initially, I was excited to see there was a section on cognitive approaches. If one is interested in story comprehension, then it's a good idea to see what AI theorists who've tried to make programs understand stories have to say. To paraphrase Herbert Simon, we understand something when we can explain it to someone else, but we *really* understand something when we can explain it to a computer. Fine words are one thing, but when a program has to distinguish between one news item and another, then we need a real theory of how story comprehension works. Unfortunately, while this section is better grounded than others, the ratio of high concept to result remains very much greater than one. From Teun Van Dijk, we get the deep insight that a "theory of action discourse is more general than a theory of stories" and from Susan Lohafer we learn that stories must provide closure. Hmmm.

Who is this book for? Perhaps for the kind of reader who's long ago lost his/her pleasure in the story per se and must now savor the various self-serving rationales for why such a pleasure is to be had. It's a noble reason, but it also indicates, I think, why literary studies is so moribund.

Perhaps the bible of short story theory
It's the best book for researchers on short story theory. Charles E. May is a clever editor and a great writer. His articles are deep and clear. His editting shows a careful selection of articles which obey a logical sequence being all intertwined and interconnected. I do recommend the book for undergraduate students of literature as well as for graduate students.

For understanding, not writing, short stories
In short (pun intended), this is one of the two or three best books out there on the theory of short story (see also _Short Story Theory at a Crossroads_ ed. by Lohafer and Clarey).

There are countless books out there for helping you craft your own short fiction.This book is not for that, nor does it make any claims to this purpose.

Instead, it is an excellent, critical look at the history and current state of the genre of the short story.If this is at all your interest, you must have this book.

Please disregard John Jr's review, for it is "almost useless" as far as this book is concerned.

Sorry, John
Just a note to my colleague John to say I am sorry he did not find the book useful.I did not intend it for creative writing classes, but for students interested in the generic nature of the short story. Perhaps he might find the earlier version of the book more helpful, but this book does represent the best current thinking about the short story I could find.And thanks to John for at least a kind word about my own essay. Charles May

Great book, but difficult
John Jr (below) obviously has a little chip on his shoulder about writingtheory and probably about academia.

No, this is not a how-to book filledwith exercises and tips and explanations of different techniques.It is abook for the advanced student or writer, and discusses issues involved withthe short story, placing the form in assorted contexts and dissecting itfrom those positions.It is not easy reading, but neither is itimpregnable to the thoughtful reader.It will not tell you how to writeshort stories, but it will provide you with intelligent ways of thinkingabout them, and hence, being more disciplined and perhaps original in yourwork. ... Read more