Ruby Magosvongwe and Steven Millhauser on the short story
There is much talk about the short story these days. The latest authoritative views about the genre are by University of Zimbabwe professor Ruby Magosvongwe and award-winning short story writer Steven Millhauser who presented the short story as more important than the novel.
Speaking at a high school short story contest award ceremony recently, Magosvongwe labelled Zimbabwe “a short story country.” To make such a claim, one has to have a strong reason, here is hers:
“Nearly every, I emphasise EVERY Zimbabwean who has become prominent today started with short stories or has a short story collection somewhere along the way. Here we go: Dambudzo Marechera’s House of Hunger, Charles Mungoshi’s Coming of the Dry Season, David Mungoshi’s Broken Dream and Other stories, Yvonne Vera’s Why Don’t You Carve Other Animals, Stanley Nyamfukudza’s Aftermaths, Chenjerai Hove’s Matende Mashava.” (Her full speech is on the Unofungei Fungai Blog).
But why is the short such an important genre in the literature of Zimbabwe and any country for that matter? Perhaps Steven Millhauser’s New York Times essay provides a possible answer: “The short story apologizes for nothing. It exults in its shortness…its greatness is its shortness.” Millhauser also points out that the difference between a short story and a novel is that the former concentrates on some small portion of the world, “but you will find, deep within it, nothing less than the world itself.” Basically, the short story, in its modesty, albeit pretenteous, is an addictive little outlet, enabling much to be said in a few words. A novel may thrash out with overconfidence and limitless indulgence, but the short story, says Millhauser, believes in hidden power, its brevity: “It wants to be a single word.” Read more on Wealth of Ideas
