Who are your favorite short story writers? Favorite short stories?

Ambrose Bierce was really great

The Devil's Dictionary was superb

FEMALE, n. One of the opposing, or unfair, sex.

The Maker, at Creation's birth,
With living things had stocked the earth.
From elephants to bats and snails,
They all were good, for all were males.
But when the Devil came and saw
He said: "By Thine eternal law
Of growth, maturity, decay,
These all must quickly pass away
And leave untenanted the earth
Unless Thou dost establish birth"—
Then tucked his head beneath his wing
To laugh— he had no sleeve— the thing
With deviltry did so accord,
That he'd suggested to the Lord.
The Master pondered this advice,
Then shook and threw the fateful dice
Wherewith all matters here below
Are ordered, and observed the throw;
Then bent His head in awful state,
Confirming the decree of Fate.
From every part of earth anew
The conscious dust consenting flew,
While rivers from their courses rolled
To make it plastic for the mould.
Enough collected (but no more,
For ****rd Nature hoards her store)
He kneaded it to flexible clay,
While Nick unseen threw some away.
And then the various forms He cast,
Gross organs first and finer last;
No one at once evolved, but all
By even touches grew and small
Degrees advanced, till, shade by shade,
To match all living things He'd made
Females, complete in all their parts
Except (His clay gave out) the hearts.
"No matter," Satan cried; "with speed
I'll fetch the very hearts they need"—
So flew away and soon brought back
The number needed, in a sack.
That night earth range with sounds of strife—
Ten million males each had a wife;
That night sweet Peace her pinions spread
O'er Hell— ten million devils dead!





Hilarious.

Dubliners-Joyce

I don't know if this is what you had in mind but if you ever read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein it will stay with you forever

quote:

---

Breesus

---

I will give it a read for sure.

I read a childrens version of Sleepy hollow as a young lad. who was the original author?

quote:

---

who was the original author?

---

Washington Irving

quote:

---

I will give it a read for sure

---

Enjoy.

Fr. Fitz read it to us and it's been one of my favorite short stories ever since. RIP one of the greatest and smartest men to walk the planet.

McCullers "A Tree, a Rock, a Cloud"
Faulkner "The Bear"

Also, Walker, Poe, Twain, Capote, O'Connor

Love:

Raymond Carver
John Updike
Phillip Roth
Flannery O'Connor

Vonnegut wrote a short story titled "Harrison Bergeron".

Poe of course, first and foremost. Eudora Welty, Primo Levi and Checkov are others that come to mind.

Most recently, I read The Seven Who Were Hanged by Leonid Andreyev. Excellent short story you'll find in some Russian anthology or another. You'll never be disappointed by the great Russian short story writers: Checkov, Pushkin, Turgenev, Tolstoy, etc.

quote:

---

Is one of the greatest literary works ever written and I cannot wait to pass my copy on to my son.

---

It is very special indeed