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Short stories in the academy: mimesis, diegesis and the role of drama and film

The new prominence of authors teaching creative writing in the academy might have seemed unlikely given a critical context which railed against the influence of authors in interpretation. This discussion suggests reasons for an unlikely coalescence between theory and practice, and considers how situating the study of writing within the academy might have affected the short form, giving rise to more mimetic, less diegetic types of story and certain fashions in narrative style, ones often related to drama and film. The discussion considers the workshop vogue for the second person narrative, examining a story by Lorrie Moore; it investigates filmic influences including Eisenstein’s theories of montage; and compares two versions of the same Raymond Carver story. In conclusion, consideration of such influences and methods, those arising from the poetics of restraint prevailing in the workshop, are viewed in relation to a brief original story.