Story into history: Alice Munro's minor literature

Citation

Hunter A (2004) Story into history: Alice Munro's minor literature. English, 53 (207), pp. 219-238. https://doi.org/10.1093/english/53.207.219

Abstract
First paragraph: While Alice Munro is widely regarded as the finest short story writer in English, the interest that critics show in her work rarely extends to considering it as short fiction. Enthusiastic feminist and post-colonial readings tend to ignore the formal characteristics of Munro's stories, with the result that much of what is claimed for her writing could be said to be genre-blind. In this essay, I argue that Munro's use of the short story form, and particularly her development of an elliptical and interrogative narrational style, is fundamental to the account she gives of women in Canada's settler history.

Keywords
short story; Alice Munro

Journal
English: Volume 53, Issue 207

People

Dr Adrian Hunter

Senior Lecturer, English Studies