Short Fiction Classics

How many of you remember suffering through those incredibly (what we thought at the time) boring 8th grade English classes? I remember quite a few of those. I don't remember all that we read, but there was one piece of short fiction that really impressed me and I remembered it through the years. I recently re-read it an it continues to be a delight to read. The work is titled "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and was written by the inimitable Ambrose Bierce (see photo). This classic which took place during the Civil War features foreshadowing and the author's excellent command of sleight of hand to deceive the reader. I will not reveal more, you have to read it for yourself. You will like it. I thank my 8th grade teacher Mrs. Hudson for having us read this. What a classic!

Two other favorite pieces of short fiction are:

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. This is chilling and disturbing, but excellent. The other is "The Devil and Daniel Webster" by Stephen Vincent Benet. Read them for yourself and let me know what you think. If only more Americans would show an appreciation for the rich literature we have.