#21: The Art of the Short Story with Joe Labriola

Exploring Kodawari

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“The well-told story seems to answer something very deep in our nature as if, for the duration of its telling, something special has been created, some essence of our experience extrapolated, some temporary sense has been made of our common, turbulent journey towards the grave and oblivion.” —William Boyd

Our mission for this episode was to capture the beauty and art of the short story. And to help us out with this we were joined by author and writing professor Joe Labriola.

Besides speaking more generally about what makes flash fiction and short stories so powerful, we specifically analyzed two stories that were short enough to read on the podcast. The first was Sticks by George Saunders—probably my favorite story ever—and the second was ”Coloring In” by Joe Labriola himself.

Both of these short stories share the ability to gesture at truths about life—you could definitely say uncomfortable truths— in less than 400 words.

And speaking of truth, there is an anecdote that we mentioned in the episode about the writer John Updike. When asked something like: "Why is it that you write about fiction, why don’t you write about the truth?" Updike answered something like: "My good man, what is it that you think great fiction is?"

And I think that is what is so compelling about great fiction. While it is literally false—the characters and events can be completely made up—what it gestures at is often hyper-true. This is certainly the case with a story like ”Sticks” by George Saunders, and every time I read it I feel as though I temporarily remember a deeper truth about life that had left my mind. Even if it is a sad truth, I think we humans just enjoy being in the presence of truth.

The writer Virginia Woolf, when speaking about photography said: “Isn’t it odd how much more one sees in a photograph than in real life?” I think this is also true of short stories—they are like mirrors that reflect back at us something more true than what we tend to notice in everyday life.

Thanks for listening, be sure to check out the linked stories below, and enjoy the episode!

Timestamps (clickable on webpage):

[04:10] John Updike and the truth in fiction
[06:43] Flash fiction, short stories, novellas, novels, and the distinctions between them
[15:45] A Short History of the Short Story by William Boyd and Edgar Allan Poe’s definition of the short story
[20:13] Comparing the writing process with the music composition process
[24:11] Kurt Vonnegut quitting his job at Sports Illustrated
[32:20] The mythological roots of great story telling
[37:48] Reading “Sticks” by George Saunders
[53:56] Does analyzing great text or music take away from the magic?
[01:04:09] Reading “Coloring In” by Joe Labriola
[01:17:35] Virginia Woolf on photography and William Boyd on how short stories are “snapshots of the human condition” that allow to to “see in them more than in real life.”

Reccomended Short Stories:

“The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas“ by Ursula K. Le Guin
“The Last Question“ by Isaac Asimov
“HARRISON BERGERON” by Kurt Vonnegut
“The Egg“ by Andy Weir
“The Distance of the Moon” by Italo Calvino

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