Short Story Theories

Although the short story has often been called America’s unique contribution to the world’s literature, relatively few critics have taken the form seriously. May’s collection of essays by popular commentators, academic critics, and short story writers attempts to assess the reasons for this neglect and provides significant theoretical directions for a reevaluation of the form.

The essays range from discussions by Poe to comments by John Cheever. Frank O’Connor describes the short story as de...