Can you suggest a classic American short story for the course I propose teaching seniors

[CTyankee]

at my local Institute for Learning in Retirement?

I have thought of a few: The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Hemingway, The Swimmer by Cheever, The Lottery by Jackson and Brokeback Mountain by Proulx.

It will only be two months long so I can't have too many, but I need some other options...perhaps the best Updike and a reach back to someone like Wharton.

Thanks, DUers. I will appreciate and look forward to your excellent feedback!

[Cleita]

1. Have you thought about some of James Thurber's short stories?

I had completely forgotten about him until Keith Olbermann started reading some of his work on his show. He probably would appeal to seniors too because he wrote about contemporary things between 1929 and 1961.

[CTyankee]

3. Funny, as I typed the post I thought of Thurber. I LOVED his short stories.

I remember laughing myself silly over "The Night the Bed Fell." I've gotta go find that now...

He was a really funny writer and I liked his cartoons in the New Yorker too...

[Sal Minella]

29. "The Unicorn in the Garden" is my favorite Thurber short story.

Salinger's "For Esme, with Love and Squalor" comes to mind.

Katherine Mansfield's "Bliss" (but I guess she wasn't American?)

[CTyankee]

40. Ah, Salinger! I LOVED "for esme..." THAT was my era...

I thought Mansfield was American but maybe not...

Thank you for the suggestions!

[GreenPartyVoter]

121. We read "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" when I was in high school. That was interesting.

[azmouse]

2. My suggestions:

"The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe
"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce
The Gift of the Magi" by O Henry

[CTyankee]

5. I thought of the Bierce story because its theme is one you see every once in a while.

The ending is very similar to Snows of Kilimanjaro...

[LaydeeBug]

4. Alice Walker's "Everyday Use". nt

[TheManInTheMac]

59. "For your grandmama"...

Excellent suggestion!

[LaydeeBug]

90. Thanks, and welcome to du! nt

[TheManInTheMac]

93. LOL!

Thanks for the welcome, but if you take a look at my profile you will understand my response. :-)

I'm not shy, I'm just lazy.

[myrna minx]

6. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Bierce and

Young Goodman Brown by Hawthorne

[CTyankee]

7. I know the first one but what is the second one about?

[myrna minx]

13. It's classic Hawthore. Here's a synopsis-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Goodman_Brown

[anneboleyn]

30. Hawthorne is wonderful. Also, POE is a short story master. "Ligeia," "The Black Cat," etc.

Poe is often considered the master of the genre. He was (of course) Hawthorne's contemporary. There are many short stories to choose from in Poe's case. I recommend a classic such as The Tell-Tale Heart.

[anneboleyn]

31. POE and choose one of Wharton's wonderful ghost stories -- "All Souls" or "The Lady Maid's Bell"

Wharton's ghost tales explore feminist issues as well so there is a lot to discuss with the students -- form and content and message make for very interesting pieces.

[CTyankee]

36. This has given me the idea that I need to separate the classic American short story

by centuries: 19th and 20th in particular...there's real gold here and too much for one course.

[lolly]

118. "Roman Fever"

Another Wharton.

I like this one to show how a story doesn't have to have action to have intense conflict.

Also great to talk about character, irony, forshadowing, all that fun stuff.

And seniors might appreciate the subtle hints sprinkled throughout more than college age students.

[myrna minx]

109. I agree that Poe would be an excellent addition to the curriculum.

:hi: fellow Poe fan.

[sarge43]

18. New England witchcraft and the Puritan mind

Like Kafka's Metamorphosis, the reader isn't sure if the events are real or all in the protag's mind. The kids should be reading that one instead of The Scarlet Letter.

[Junkdrawer]

26. Kurt Vonnegut says you're not a twerp....

...

Now you know what a Humanist and a Luddite are. Do you know what a Twerp is? When I was in high school in Indianapolis 65 years ago, a Twerp was a guy who stuck a set of false teeth up his rear end and bit the buttons off the back seats of taxicabs. (And a Snarf was a guy who sniffed the seats of girls’ bicycles.)

And I consider anybody a Twerp who hasn’t read the greatest American short story, which is ''Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,'' by Ambrose Bierce. It isn’t remotely political. It is a flawless example of American genius, like ''Sophisticated Lady'' by Duke Ellington or the Franklin stove.

....

http://www.vonnegutweb.com/archives/arc_nice.html

[myrna minx]

110. Heh!

:hi:

(I miss Vonnegut.)

[zeemike]

43. Young Goodman Brown came to my mind too.

That story has always impressed me...it is a horror story really and better than most of todays tales.

[myrna minx]

111. I read it for the first time when I was in Jr High, and it has always stayed with me.

:hi:

[zeemike]

154. I did not read it until I took a collage course.

And in that course I learned what I had been missing in classical literature.

[Spider Jerusalem]

8. "The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber" by Ernest Hemingway.

[CTyankee]

12. I considered that one but liked Snows of Kilimanjaro better...dunno why.

Maybe it was the description of Kilimanjaro and the authenticity of the characters...

[grasswire]

9. have you thought about Wallace Stegner?

I have a couple of books of his short stories, some of which are portions of his books (which I also strongly recommend reading).

I can't think of a finer, more compelling writer to share. He would be just a bit older than your seniors if he were still living.

He was the fiction writing guru at Stanford University, of course. His book "On Teaching and Writing Fiction" is also highly useful.

He often writes about his family's experiences in a small town in Saskatchewan in the early twentieth century.

[sarge43]

10. I've always liked Hawthorne's short stories

Young Goodman Brown

Rappaccini's Daughter

[Octafish]

11. P.G. Wodehouse, Franz Kafka and H.P. Lovecraft.

Of course, please give them a few stories from Jorge Luis Borges. They will love you.


The Garden of Forking Paths

http://www.coldbacon.com/writing/borges-garden.html


Funes, the Memorius

http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/borges.htm


Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius

(English and Spanish) http://interglacial.com/~sburke/pub/Borges_-_Tlon,_Uqbar,_Orbis_Tertius.html

(download) http://www.4shared.com/file/128409797/1e24c8ba/Jorge_Luis_Borges_-_Tln_Uqbar_.html



Website with Essays, Resources, etc:

http://www.themodernword.com/borges/


An excellent compilation of the above and about a dozen more stories :

Ficciones

http://www.amazon.com/Ficciones-English-Translation-Jorge-Borges/dp/0802130305



http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/ISBNInquiry.asp?r=1&EAN=9780802130303&cm_mmc=Google%20Book%20Search-_-k118169-_-j14953980-_-Googe%20Book%20Search%20(non-B%26N%20Imprint)&IF=N


Anyone who likes to read is all right with me. Hope I don’t sound too pedantic.

[CTyankee]

16. These sound really fascinating but I was looking for classic American stories.

However, you have given me an idea about a future course to include foreign writers...there's great stuff out there...

[Octafish]

19. LOL. My bad. It says: 'American.' Gawsh. I flunked the course but I inspired a teacher.

Too drunk to type or my reading compression has left the building...

[CTyankee]

79. Hope you are OK. Don't do anything bad on my account!

Be good and be well....

[dgibby]

22. What about The Ransom of Red Chief?

One of my all time favorites, and they'd probably connect to it through their grandchildren. Could be an interesting discussion. You'd probably get enough material for a book!

[lunatica]

49. I suggested that in response #46 downthread.

I think it is quite funny in written form. Much funnier than in visual form. I love that story!

[Fumesucker]

77. Or '"The Gift of the Magi"..

That's a touching story..

[EFerrari]

14. A Jury of Her Peers might work because it appeals to experience.

Have fun!

[grasswire]

15. oh, another good choice would be Jean Shepherd

What a marvelous slice of Americana he wrote!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Shepherd

[sarge43]

25. Oh yes, anything from In God We Trust

or Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories and Other Disasters.

[KittyWampus]

65. Garrison Keillor also writes in a somewhat similar vein.

[closeupready]

17. I like Edgar Allan Poe and O. Henry

Particularly "Hop Frog" (Poe) and the O. Henry story about the turtle comb and watch thingie.

On edit, "Gift of the Magi".

[Jack Rabbit]

20. The Devil and Daniel Webster by Stephen Vincent Benet

Sometimes I toy with the idea of "updating" the jury with General Custer, Richard Nixon and Dick Cheney.

[HopeHoops]

21. How about "Chesapeake" by James A. Michener?

Well, compared to a set of encyclopedias that is short!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

23. Irwin Shaw wrote great short stories...

Of course, I can't find my book just now.

He is a wonderfully vivid writer.

[CTyankee]

37. I like Irwin Shaw...good suggestion...nt

[librechik]

24. I always liked "To Build a Fire"

as a teaching tool.

[Catherina]

35. Best short story that! For longer, I nominate The Iron Heel or Michael Brother of Jerry

Michael, Brother of Jerry http://london.sonoma.edu/Writings/Michael/

The Iron Heel http://www.jacklondons.net/writings/IronHeel/toc.html

[tekisui]

56. This one!

[Ishoutandscream2]

119. +1. Loved that. Was taught that as an eighth grader in the 70s

Great short story for a teenage boy. I really, really enjoyed it.

[rucky]

27. Eudora Welty

pretty much everything, but my favorite is "Why I Live at the P.O."

[CTyankee]

34. Looking for another woman...great! Thanks!

[femmedem]

99. Grace Paley? Here's the opening of The Used -Boy Raisers

"There were two husbands disappointed by eggs.

I don't like them that way either, I said. Make your own eggs. They sighed in unison. One was livid; one was pallid.

There isn't a drink around here, is there? asked Livid.

Never find one here, said Pallid. Don't look; driest damn house. Pallid pushed the eggs away, pain and disgust his escutcheon."

[LiberalLoner]

42. I give a hearty second to this recommendation, LOVE Eudora Welty. n/t

[TheManInTheMac]

62. I was thinking of that story too.

I always thought it was Ms. Welty's tribute to James Thurber.

[nyc 4 Biden]

28. An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge by author Ambrose Bierce

[fishwax]

32. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" or "Good Country People" by Flannery O'Connor

"The Life You Save May Be Your Own" is another good story from the same collection.

[DonP]

33. Jack London - "To Build a Fire" ntxt

[Yunomi]

38. "The Grains of Paradise" by James Street (nt)

[MadHound]

39. The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

[CTyankee]

41. All the more reason to make this into TWO courses: one for 19th and one for 20th century...

too much good stuff for one course!

[Sal Minella]

92. That story haunts me yet.

Gilman also wrote a novel about a land run by women, right? They wear long loose garments with big pockets and live by farming, and some excel at child care, and each woman follows her own talents. Men are used pretty much for breeding, iirc -- men aren't put down in this novel, particularly, they're just rather extraneous in this peaceful and productive society.

Very thought-provoking book, that was, whatever the name was!!!

[lolly]

120. Herland?

Or was that the Ursula LeGuin novel?

[TriMera]

124. Great novel!

And it is by Gilman. :)

[enlightenment]

44. It's probably too long (though it excerpts well), but

The Squatter and the Don by Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton is a fascinating story about a little discussed period, from a different point of view!

Here's a link to the Google book - you can get a sense of it if you're not already familiar. (Tiny URL because the original was very, very long).

http://tiny.cc/6b7ga

[Nay]

45. "A Boy and His Dog" -- Harlan Ellison

[Mariana]

47. Seconded.

[Frank Cannon]

96. I would also nominate "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream"

Scariest short story ever. Ever.

[sweetloukillbot]

134. I read that in a gifted program in 3rd grade...

Never expose anyone under 10 to Ellison - I had nightmares forever!
But for adults, he's brilliant, if a bit of a jerk.

[Frank Cannon]

140. It's funny. I've met a couple of people that had encounters with Ellison.

And they reported that he was a nice, funny guy.

I think a lot of the "bad boy" stuff about him is a myth that he generates himself because it makes him seem "cool".

But yeah, he doesn't suffer fools gladly, and he will sue your ass at the soonest opportunity, so watch your step.

[sweetloukillbot]

145. And don't mention Gene Roddenberry around him... n/t

[NuttyFluffers]

105. "Deathbird" by Ellison. nice and meaty short stories.

a bit more modern, dunno how the class is to be divided up. but it's a great pick nonetheless. i'd throw in Ursula K. LeGuin as well if we are doing more modern writers.

[lunatica]

46. O'Henry's The Ransom of Red Chief

I loved that story! It's such a good 'be careful what you ask for' story and much funnier in written form than in visual form.

[janx]

48. "Turkey Season"

by Alice Munro.

[CTyankee]

71. Hey, another woman...good for you...

[Mz Pip]

50. Tobias Wolff

"The Night in Question."

"Hunters in the Snow"

"Awaiting Orders."

All are really excellent short stories.

[janx]

55. Agreed...but I like "The Night in Question" the best. n/t

[joeybee12]

51. Babylon Revisited by F Scott Fitzgerald...n/t

[branders seine]

52. The Story of an Hour by Chopin

Young Goodman Brown by Hawthorne

Twelve O'Clock by Stephen Crane

To Build a Fire by Jack London

"classic" is a tough word to parse...

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall by Porter

Spunk by Zora Neale Hurston


Lots of great ones form the 60's and 70's, but does that fit "classic"?

[janx]

53. Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," James Baldwin's

"Sonny's Blues," "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver, "The Management of Grief" by Bharati Mukherjee.

[DevonRex]

69. Dammit, janx, you beat me to it. I love Rose. :) nt

[lovemydog]

54. here's a few

In Dreams Begin Responsibilities by Delmore Schwartz (provokes reflection)

The Genius by Donald Barthelme (about how public perception and actual life are different)

Coyote v. Acme by Ian Frazier (hilarious about litigation)

[CTyankee]

76. Love Bartheme...so good...and a good contemporary writer...

[SunnySong]

57. May I humbly suggest some H.P. Lovecraft. nt

[sweetloukillbot]

133. I love HP Lovecraft, although his unabashed racism is quite a turn-off...

Funny thing was I never noticed it until it was abruptly pointed out to me - now it is so obvious I can't believe I overlooked it.

[Frank Cannon]

142. Racist? Lots of people had pets named "N*gger" back then.

This was not seen as unusual in the slightest.

I heard they are remaking the popular 1955 movie "The Dam Busters" (about the RAF's 617 Squadron that blew up German dams in WW II), and there is some controversy about whether they are going to change the name of the famous Commander's dog (and the squadron's mascot) to something else to avoid the inevitable outrage.

[sweetloukillbot]

146. It's more than that....

It's more his portrayal of Native Americans, Africans and Asians as being Cthulhu worshippers who are up to some unspeakable evil in their section of town, corrupting the upper-class white citizens with their evildoings. I'm thinking of Shadow Out of Innsmouth - the fish people are modeled after Asians, and in Call of Cthulhu, where its "inbred mullatos" in the swamps of Louisiana who are worshipping Cthulhu. The cat's name in Rats in the Walls didn't bother me, for precisely the reason you mentioned - but taken with the other stuff, it does paint a nasty picture of the author. But again, I think his stories are amazingly terrifying.


An aside - Is "Dam Busters" the movie that Pink is watching during "Nobody Home" in the movie version of "The Wall" - referring to the dog getting run over by a truck or something?

[Frank Cannon]

150. Yes, "Dam Busters" is the movie Pink is watching in the movie.

Good call on that one.

And I guess I'll have to reread some of the other stories to see if I pick up on the other racist overtones. It's been years since I've read any HPL. I agree that his stories are freaky terrifying.

[SunnySong]

156. In the American release of the originakl film the redubbed the dogs name to Trigger.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046889/trivia

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046889/goofs

[janx]

58. Sorry...I ignored the classic American part in some cases. n/t

[tekisui]

60. O. Henry, Poe and Twain.

Mark Twain's short stories are great fun and have lots to learn in them. "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and many more.

[CTyankee]

78. I really think now that I should break this into two courses: 19th and 20th century.

What do you think?

[tekisui]

81. That sounds like a good idea to me.

THere is a lot of great material in American Short Stories. This thread is making me want to dive back into my short story phase.

[CTyankee]

83. Fun, wasn't it? I had a great time dissecting "The Swimmer" by Cheever in my Master's thesis.

So I know a lot about him. But the others are interesting to me also. REally good short stories and I love them. Wanna go back and revisit them and teach it to some nice folks in my seniors group at ILR...

[femmedem]

100. If you do one course that's just 20th century

perhaps try to fit in some Lorrie Moore. She's so simultaneously funny and serious. Lots of puns, breath-taking sentences, the best similes around. Her characters are often tap-dancing while their world falls apart. If you have time, check out the collection Birds of America. Her story "People Like That Are The Only People Here" is probably her best known short story, having been anthologized in both the annual O.Henry collection and Best American Short Stories.

[CTyankee]

114. Thanks, I'll make a note of that...

[NuttyFluffers]

106. depends, you could also pick a genre and do a chronological narrative, too.

that way people could see the progression of language and tastes regarding said topic.

the first question i must ask is "what exactly do you want to achieve (to communicate to your audience)?" the next is "which favorite authors/stories would you feel disconsolate if you could not teach to your students?" you'll find that answering both these questions will dialogue enough into creating a narrative/thesis and from there you can refine your search.

edit: for example, if you wanted to focus on women writers or sexuality through the ages, Kate Chopin could fit in handsomely. if you are working off of horror or war stories, she'd not be so useful.

[CTyankee]

115. That's an interesting idea. I really don't have that option. People in ILR get a "menu" of

course options and choose based on what they want to do with their time. Current Events, trips to Ellis Island to track down ancestors, ethnic eating in restaurants, etc, are popular. Short stories were too at one time but nobody is doing it now so I thought I would jump in.

The seniors range from mid 60s to 80s so there is a big range.

We have a pretty big group of people to appeal to.

[cali]

61. How about something a little earlier? Henry James' Turn of the Screw

of Kate Chopin's The Awakening?

[Morning Dew]

63. Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron is always a good read. n/t

[TheKentuckian]

64. The Pearl by Steinbeck seemed like it had a lot of impact and was fairly short

[CTyankee]

80. Good idea! I know of the story but I have never read it. It's a good idea for a story.

I think my peeps want something that is relevant to them, so I think Cheever, Updike, Proulx, etc will be acceptable to them and in their "time period." I think Updike wil be too. Don't know about anyone else...just looking for authors here...

[knitter4democracy]

66. "Most Dangerous Game" is a good one.

"The Necklace" is another. Most of the other stories we use in our 9th grade English curriculum have already been mentioned.

[DevonRex]

67. A Rose for Emily - Faulkner. But Brokeback would be wonderful, too.

Actually, they'd be great companion pieces.

[CTyankee]

72. Noted. Excellent ideas! Thanks...

[KittyWampus]

68. Oscar Wilde is very entertaining and well written. Example, The Remarkable Rocket:

at the link:
http://www.shortstoryarchive.com/w/oscar_wilde.html

[KittyWampus]

70. Oh, and since these are adults- Droll Stories by Balzac. Okay, probably not

but they are worth a try.

[CTyankee]

74. well, I thought we were doing American Classic short stories so...

maybe in another course...hey, who knows, it could be something people would love...I just don't know...

[KittyWampus]

86. Oops! Sorry. This thread ends up as a good suggestion list for summer reading

:blush:

[CTyankee]

89. I know...doesn't it? Good beach reading....

I'll be on Martha's Vineyard from the 8th of July til the 14th (daughter has a house on Chappaquiddick Island next door to MV). Lots of family coming. We'll be spending a good amount of time reading I am sure...

[Sparkly]

73. Edith Wharton's "Xingu"

My favorite of all favorites!!

("Bernice Bobs Her Hair" is fun reading, too. Don't know if these count as "classics," but they're enjoyable!) :hi:

(Edit: I'm taking notes from this thread for summer reading!!)

[CTyankee]

75. OMG. I'm intimidated! Hope you are kinda kidding...

All I want to do is submit a proposal to the ILR committee for a course. We'll see what they say...I'm thinking, though, of breaking this into a 20th century short story course. My audience are 20th century people. Theyknow Cheever, Updike,Proulx, and Hemingway well. While I don't think I can make them "break out" of their mold, I can at least expand beyond what they already know. That is my goal.

[Curmudgeoness]

82. I have a collection of Edna Ferber short stories. Seniors would love.

They go back to an age they can relate to, have lived through. And they show that the more times change, the more people stay the same. I enjoy them every time I read them. My book is called Old Basket, but I have never seen it except for my copy---but who knows.

[CTyankee]

84. Please. Let me know about this. I'd be thrilled...

[Curmudgeoness]

85. Sorry, One Basket-Edna Ferber. I did a search and it exists all over.

[Curmudgeoness]

87. Try this to get it free. At least that is what it says. Wow.

http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/489

Glad I got into this discussion, this is a new one to me and I am thrilled. My personal favorite story is really sad though (many are), and it is The Woman Who Tried to be Good.

[CTyankee]

88. Thank you so much! I appreciate this a lot! This is going to help me enrich this course

and hopefully will others in ILR to enroll in future short story courses.

Thanks to you for your help!

[Curmudgeoness]

91. Two Old Women by Velma Wallis

This is a Native American (Yukon River area of Alaska) legend that was handed down verbally, written down by Wallis. Short book, I read this every time I start to feel sorry for myself. Tons of reading guide and book club references on the net. It has become one of those "new" classics.

[Dorian Gray]

94. It's a little more modern

but it generated a lot of discussion in a creative writing class I took last year. "Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates. My husband says that his Seniors (high school girls) really respond to it.

[Swamp Rat]

95. Edgar Allan Poe - "The Unparalleled Adventures of One Hans Pfaall"

http://www.eapoe.org/works/tales/unphlle.htm

[patrice]

97. Stephen Crane's The Blue Hotel or The Open Boat

The Open Boat kind of speaks to the position of leadership at this point in our history.

[spinbaby]

98. Might I suggest a couple from science fiction?

"Even the Queen" by Connie Willis

"The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury.

[Nay]

158. Oh, shit! "The Veldt"! Now THAT was a scary little story!!

[Lochloosa]

101. A Boy and His Dog - Harlan Ellison

[1776Forever]

102. Please consider how old these "seniors" are - If in their 60's you need to up it a little.

I thought this one sounded interesting!

The First Men
From Wikipedia,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_First_Men

"The First Men" is a 1960 science fiction short story by Howard Fast. It was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in February of 1960. It was later printed bundled with "The Martian Shop" (1959) in The Edge of Tomorrow. It is now freely available online.

...................

You can search in widipedia for specific short stories of each year:

Short stories first published in 1960.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:1960_short_stories

[alcibiades_mystery]

103. The Indian Uprising, by Donald Barthelme

It'll blow their minds.

[NuttyFluffers]

104. Ambrose Bierce, Clark Ashton Smith, H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allen Poe, Robert W. Chambers...

hey, they're older, it's not like they were gonna sleep much anyway... :evilgrin:

actually, the horror short story, and especially ghost stories, is perhaps one of the most challenging stories to write in English. it can far too easily slip into the comical or pornographic (in terms of gore, either way dispels the magic and cheapen the horror. looking at past successful writers teaches the art of finesse.

[suffragette]

107. I Stand Here Ironing by Tillie Olsen

[Sisaruus]

117. I recommended Tell Me a Riddle below but

I Stand Here Ironing is another favorite which has resonated with me for decades. I thought that seniors might relate to Tell Me.. since it is about an elderly couple.

[suffragette]

130. That's a great choice

And resonated is a perfect word to describe her work.
The themes, power and beauty of her writing strike a deep chord.


http://www.tillieolsen.net/obituary.php

[Jim__]

108. Cathedral - Raymond Carver.

Good story.

[Ezlivin]

112. "The Child by Tiger" by Thomas Wolfe

An excellent short story that stuck with me for decades (as a child of the South).

Read more about it at: http://everything2.com/title/The+Child+by+Tiger

[theophilus]

113. "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury. Thought provoking subject for today. n/t

[Sisaruus]

116. Tell Me a Riddle by Tillie Olsen

"For forty-seven years they had been married. How deep back the stubborn, gnarled roots of the quarrel reached, no one could say -- but only now, when tending to the needs of others no longer shackled them together, the roots swelled up visible, split the earth between them, and the tearing shook even to the children, long since grown."

--from "Tell Me a Riddle" which received the O. Henry first prize for best American short story in 1961.

From Wikipedia:
Tillie Lerner Olsen (January 14, 1912–January 1, 2007)<1> was an American writer associated with the political turmoil of the 1930s and the first generation of American feminists.....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tillie_Olsen

[frustrated_lefty]

122. Jack London and O. Henry, of course, and possibly

one of the stories from "A Beaker's Dozen" by Nancy Kress. That may fall out of the scope of your course, because her writings are modern. The stories are exploratory, considering the potential implications of recent technological advances. I enjoy her writing very much because she has a carefully crafted writing style which reminds me of London...you're reading a yarn, a tale, but one which has been lovingly shaped by the author. She also carefully researches the technological issues addressed within her stories so as not to present purely fantastical premises. And, most importantly, she addresses important philosophical questions within that context to examine who we are as people and what we may be becoming.

In longer novels, she uses one character's interest in the writings of Lincoln to tie the thoughts of the past into the concerns of today and tomorrow.

Again, it may be outside the classical scope of your class, but you may find it rewarding if there is a way to incorporate one of her stories.

Best wishes, sounds like a fun class. I'd love to be a fly on the wall hearing these stories discussed by a bunch of old farts with so much life experience under their belts.

[political_Dem]

123. Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery".

A very interesting story about group psychology. It's a great conversation piece when talking about how it intersects with politics and the times Ms. Jackson was writing in.

[tsuki]

148. Beat me to it. nt

[Mopar151]

125. Red Star, Winter Orbit

An excellent, poignant story by two of contemporary SF's best authors - Bruce Sterling and William Gibson
A pioneering Russian Cosmonaut is abandoned to die in orbit because of politics, rescued by American squatters.

Link to complete text: http://lib.ru/STERLINGB/r_star.txt

[Patsy Stone]

126. Rod Serling: The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street

Still as timely as ever, well written, and one of the best Twilight Zone episodes.

[Nikki Stone1]

127. Sonny's Blues: James Baldwin

.

[PBS Poll-435]

128. The Pearl - Steinbeck nt

[WillyT]

129. 'You Could Look It Up' - By James Thurber

"You Could Look It Up," about a midget being brought in to take a walk in a baseball game, is said to have been an inspiration for Bill Veeck's stunt with Eddie Gaedel with the St. Louis Browns in 1951. Veeck claimed an older provenance for the stunt, but was certainly aware of the Thurber story.

:hi:

[Hekate]

131. Kick. Love all these suggestions--thanks DUers!

[sweetloukillbot]

132. For more modern works, try Raymond Carver

A handful of his stories were woven together into the film "Short Cuts" but they stand alone just as well. "A Small Good Thing" and "So Much Water Close To Home" are incredible.

[OswegoAtheist]

141. I second this.

Especially "Cathedral". Other options are Flannery O'Connor (her "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is standard for high school students), Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried", and anything by Anton Chekov.

Oswego "all the short stories I've written are porny types" Atheist

[sweetloukillbot]

144. I'll back you up on Tim O'Brien as well!

The Things They Carried is an amazing look at Vietnam from the soldier's perspective - and O'Brien's novels are wonderful as well especially Going After Cacciato.

[sweetloukillbot]

135. Anything from the Illustrated Man or the Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

The Veldt is one of my favorite stories of all-time, as is the Martian Chronicles story where the astronauts end up in a Martian insane asylum.

[BluePatriot]

136. The Awakening, by Kate Chopin

[saltpoint]

137. The genre bends toward speculative fiction, but

I think a short story course that includes Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" would be a memorable read for seniors (or anyone else).

The imagery remains in the bones and blood long after the last paragraph.

Flannery O'Connor should be considered. As good a voice of the American south as can be found.

Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is still lots of fun. No woods is quite the same after someone has read that one.

I like your choices. Good luck on that class. Maybe let your students know that if they read a dozen or so short stories in your course, they will have eclipsed the TOTAL number of short stories read by their fellow citizens. If they were to read one a week for an entire year, they would become among the most prolific readers of short stories in the U.S. You can urge them to empower themselves with fiction!

It's good stuff.

:hi:

[demoleft]

138. the bridges of madison county by rj waller / the notebook, by n. sparks n/t

[DFW]

139. This might not be what you call a "classic"...

But one of my all-time favorites is "Lost Legacy" by Robert Heinlein. It may be a little long for a "short story."

It is the ULTIMATE anti-teabagger/anti-ignorance story even though it was written 70 years ago.

It is part of the "Assignment in Eternity" collection.

[sweetloukillbot]

147. Not familiar with that one...

The Heinlein I've read always had a strong Libertarian bent stuff like "Farnham's Freehold" "Starship Troopers" and "Moon Is a Harsh Mistress."

[DFW]

153. This story has a very liberal bent

I'll paste from wikipedia which actually has an accurate summary:

"The novella is an exploration of the possibilities that people, with the proper training, have the potential to make use of a wide range of telepathic and telekinetic abilities. It is based on the presumption that most, if not all, humans have innate psychic abilities, but simply don't know it and therefore do not make use of them. This ignorance is encouraged by a mysterious and powerful cabal which benefits from keeping people unaware of their abilities." (sound familiar?)

"The story relates the rediscovery of psychic powers by a trio from a California university...........and the attempts of a corrupt elite to silence them." (again, sound familiar?)

[saltpoint]

143. There is a very strong story of rural farm life

from a contemporary fiction writer named Todd Lieber. The story is called "Country Things." 'Read it years ago in the Missouri Review -- maybe 1986 or 87? something like that.

Also for a quick but potent read, Donald Barthelme has a short story called "The School." It takes maybe 20 minutes to read and makes a great tale for adults, as it summons their grade school memories and then wallops 'em upside the head with them. The story can mess you up. It lets you giggle and play one minute and then rips your lungs out with its teeth the next.

As long as you are considering Proulx's "Brokeback Mountain," Eric Garber's "The Lover" might be a strong contender. It's more immediately accessible and IMO better written. Also there is "White Angel" by Michael Cunningham.

[CTyankee]

152. great suggestions, as always, Saltpoint. nt

[DailyGrind51]

149. "Catch 22" by Joseph Heller

[dawgman]

151. The Short Happy Life of Francis Maccomber

My favorite Hemingway short story.

[Waiting For Everyman]

155. "Of Mice and Men", John Steinbeck

A little longer than a short story, but not by much.

[SteppingRazor]

157. Is it strictly fiction or would you consider creative nonfiction?

Maybe Frank Sinatra Has a Cold by Gay Talese or The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved by Hunter Thompson (or just about any other article from Tom Wolfe's The New Journalism, for that matter).