Alice munro and the Short Story

Alice Munro just died in her 90's after a long and successful career in writing which was celebrated with the awarding of the Nobel Prize for short form literature. Her most celebrated book is probably The Moons of Jupiter and her most famous short story is "The Bear Came Over the Mountain" which was made into a movie. She also won the Booker Prize and was praised for her work throghout her career. Her last book "Dear Life" talks about her life as a writer and how her short stories related to her life.

I have also written about 20 short stories over the years, in fact, I have written poetry (won a prize from Mad Poet's Society wherDearme of my work was published) and I have tried my hand at three kinds of novels: a historical novel set in 1937 called White Horse Black Horse, a relationship novel, and a memoir. My favorite form is the essay and I like the blog best of all because I can just pour out my thoughts which are like a hive of bees and occasionally must be released. Because I write for release and pleasure and because my school days and work days are over, I enjoy the freedom of the blog becaue I don't have to go back and shape it and re-shape it and edit and perfect it. It is like conversation, in a way, except I don't have the pleasure of the reverberation of a companion's stories and anecdotes bouncing back.

For a long time there was a fashion of people writing really short short stores which may be been incited by Ernest Hemingway who made a bet that he could write the sshortest short story and it would be a real tear jerker and he could do it in 6 words: "For sale, baby shoes, never worn." An interesting choice for a man like Hemingway, that most domestic of subjects. I have a shorter one for him which I think would have resonance and I can almost hear him snort with laughter and derision up in the cloud of universal consciousness or wherever we go when we are dead Here is my answer to his challenge, in 5 words: "It only took one shot."

I am wondering if I should read an Alice Munro book to pay homage to her life. The two stories she wrote that haunt me I can't remember their titles, but one is about a hobo who gets a job doing some odd jobs on an a woman's farm. She can't really manage it anymore. He is a hard worker, chivalrous and moves in and fixes things up for her, but she tries to make a romance with him and he flees. The other was about a young girl who is given the life work of her uncle, his manuscript of the history of the province, and she takes his work out of the protective metal box it is stored in for safety by his two adoring sisters, so she can use the box, and his work is lost in a flood. Alice Munro was known for her deep probe into the recesses of human psychology and the complexity of human relationships as well as for a nearly perfect craftmanship.

She had a wonderful life and a rewarding career and she did what she wanted and made a success out of it - that is a prize in itself. Alice Munro - I salute you!

Let's read a book of hers in honor of her life. Happy Trails, Jo Ann wrightj45@yahoo.com