Wind down with short story collections for noncommittal readers
In the last 20 years, the biggest shift in entertainment has been the streamlining of content. The advent of smartphones and compact laptops has caused various creative industries to adapt to our more mobile lifestyle. The music industry is banking hard on streaming, and platforms like Hulu and Netflix brought the same approach to film and TV. Social media has changed (and often condensed) the way we communicate, while print news outlets have pivoted to video to keep consumers interested. There seems to be a quick, one-stop shop for just about everything we need now.
Thankfully, the world of literature has always had an option for someone with a little less time — short stories. That being said, the average college student already has plenty of reading on their plate, whether it be required reading for a class or research for a term paper. A covert way to fit fulfilling reading into a busy schedule is through short story collections. The collected works are less of a commitment than standard-length novels, making them easier to read in bits and pieces. Collections can touch on wildly different topics from story to story or have a central theme, revealing the author’s habits, motivation and worldview. Here are a few of the best.
1. Henry Dumas - "Echo Tree: The Collected Short Fiction of Henry Dumas"
Dumas was a writer and poet, born and raised in Arkansas before moving to New York City. When it came time to seek higher education he attended Rutgers University, though he never graduated. Deeply spiritual, Dumas explored religions from around the world and became engrossed in many aspects of the Black Power Movement and studied with radical pro-Black figures like Sun Ra. His stories are realistic fiction, finding mysticism in the trials and tribulations of life as a Black person in the times prior to and during the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s. Literary giant Toni Morrison gave him incredibly high praise. “He was a genius, an absolute genius,” she said.
2. James Baldwin - "Going To Meet The Man"
Baldwin’s writing provides a great foil to Dumas’s work, as mysticism is essentially non-existent in his stories. Also rooted in Black life during the mid-1900s, Baldwin’s work revolves around relationships, emphasizing familial and romantic intimacy in painstaking detail. The protagonists in his stories are children, young adults and middle-aged folks, showing different perspectives from different times. Featuring some of his best short stories like “Sonny’s Blues” and “Come Out The Wilderness,” "Going To Meet The Man" is essential reading.
3. Sandra Cisneros - "Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories"
Sandra Cisneros, best known for her novel "The House on Mango Street," is a Mexican-American writer regarded as a key figure in Chicana literature. Her experience of clashing cultures and economic inequality is mirrored in her work, reflecting a different American experience. "Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories" is a collection of stories that are focused on women’s perceived roles in society at large and in their families. Centering around Chicana protagonists, the collected stories emphasize building a strong sense of identity individually and communally. The length of stories ranges from five paragraphs to 29 pages, making this a manageable, eye-opening offering from an incredibly important point of view.
4. Jorge Luis Borges - "Ficciones"
Born in a suburb of Buenos Aires, Jorge Luis Borges and his family traveled Europe in his youth. Upon return to his native Argentina, Borges began publishing poems and essays. His short stories revolve around themes of conspiracy, secret societies, Argentinian ancestry and more. Deeply philosophical, Borges’s work made him a literary star around the world. "Ficciones" is widely seen as one of the best introductions to his work, containing 17 stories to explore.
Like music and film, literature reveals itself the more you return to it, poring over words and revisiting phrases. Short story collections offer that chance to be reintroduced to an author’s voice and style, especially if you don’t have the time to tuck into a huge novel. All the collections mentioned and many more are available through Rutgers’ network of libraries, so why not try something new?
