Sf writer Jeff VanderMeer is doing a series of blog-interviews with "bookless" sf writers who focus on short stories. This week he talks to Nathan Ballingrud, who attended Clarion with both Jeff and me. Nathan refused the free PCs that Clarion offered us, and typed his manuscripts on a portable manual typewriter. Most expressive manuscripts I've ever seen — hand-written corrections; dark type when he was pounding on the keys, light type when he was pensive and picking; lines that went all the way to the margin when he was on a roll.
What do you like most about short fiction?
Its seriousness of intent–even when humorous. In short fiction the energy is focused and precise; everything works in service to the theme. It's distilled fiction. I view a short story as a promise from the writer: I'm going to try to move you, and I'm going to do it quickly. That's hard to do, and it's so exciting when it works. Some of my favorite short story writers are Richard Ford, Maureen F. McHugh, Mark Helprin, Annie Proulx, Lucius Shepard, and Dale Bailey (a friend, I confess, but I don't list him out of a sense of duty: many of his short stories are heartbreakingly beautiful). And I still think Ernest Hemingway is the best short story writer of the last hundred years.
(Thanks, Matt!)
See also:
Jeff VanderMeer and the weird art he inspires
Urban spaces and sf: interview with Jeff VanderMeer
Economics in fiction with Stross, VanderMeer, et al
Photos of you acting dead needed for indie film
Thackery T. Lambshead Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases
