A Pocketful of Prose: Contemporary Short Fiction

by David Madden

This volume of the POCKETFUL OF PROSE collection includes 25 contemporary stories by well-known and emerging writers. The topics of the stories are as varied as the styles used to present them, but they all give voice to contemporary experiences and issues. The authors (men, women, minorities, old and young) deal with both present day and enduring personal problems and public issues, using a variety of styles and techniques. The stories in this volume can be used in a variety of approaches to teaching fiction. Instructors using a more traditional artistic approach, which claims that a study of the techniques of fiction prepares students to respond most fully to all the elements of whatever fiction they may read in the future, will find a variety of fresh examples and illustrations of these techniques. Instructors who prefer a political approach, which teaches readers to be aware of the way the rhetorical strategies of writers tend to modify or reinforce, and control or change, the political attitudes and behavior of readers, will also discover a rich resource of material for discussion.

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

There are several authors with this name

This author:
David^Madden

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David^^Madden: David Madden

David Madden is an American writer of many novels, short stories, poems, plays, and works of nonfiction and literary criticism.

Madden was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, to James Helvy and Emile Merritt Madden. He was named after David Madden, president of the East Tennessee Packing Co., where many of Madden's family worked. At the age of 16, he was a radio announcer for WKGN in Knoxville. His first success was winning second place in a statewide one-act play competition with “Call Herman in to Supper” when he was 16. He graduated from Knox High School in 1951.

Madden enrolled at the University of Tennessee in 1951. In 1952, he became a seaman in the Merchant Marine. Following his discharge from the army in 1955, he returned to the University of Tennessee and graduated in 1957 with a B.S. in education; he earned an M.A. in creative writing from San Francisco State University in 1958, and received a John Golden fellowship to attend Yale School of Drama from 1959 to 1960.

Reviews

[kylie (allegedly)]

i think i read almost every story in here. i was forced to do so. 6/10

[Connor Smith]

I feel it's typical for short story collections from various authors to be good. As in, the editor chooses the best of the best. In the coming metaphor, they're like a highway. But this collection feels more like a backroad. Sure the stories don't necessarily move you or imprint themselves on your mind eternally. Sure the assortment of authors isn't a celebration of success. But somehow, the book has become an enjoyable read. It's kind of a truism; we all need to experience something mediocre once in a while.

...At least, that was my review halfway through. I swear, they saved some good stuff for last. But upon re-reading the introduction, I learned they were going for a bunch of stories published in 1990. And to that extent, they've succeeded. Included is a real grab bag of short stories. Although ultimately, that's the true power of the short story; to be able to sit down for a completely unexpected twenty minute experience.