Lise Erdrich

While the debate continues on whether there are four, seven, eight, or thirty-six basic story plots in the world, Lise Erdrich has narrowed it down to one. She tells a tale in less than 20 words in the story titled "Well-Adjusted Individual" in her debut fiction collection, Night Train (Coffee House Press). Though her stories may be tiny, there is nothing small about Erdrich's prose. With her surprising and lyrical word choices, she shrinks the already thin line between poetry and prose, performs impressive acts of linguistic acrobatics, and makes astute, often funny observations. In "Autumn," she describes one of the characters: "It was not until years later that Z understood her fellow soul to be what they called retarded. Very Special. Or some acronym these days, like as not still inapt." In her retelling of the creation story, she writes, "Corn thought, 'I am the single most important plant in America.' This was true: everything in America and eventually the whole planet would somehow involve Corn." She notes that if you Google "Corn Is Number One," "you may only find one entry, in which Corn is implicated in the case of a constipated dog...." And it's true. Try it. You'll laugh. Erdrich's stories might be called flash fiction (as in they briefly and intensely illuminate a moment in time, not as in "flash in the pan"), or sudden fiction, or short stories, or vignettes. We'll let the occupants of the ivory tower debate that one, and just enjoy some good stories well told.
Tue., Feb. 12, 7 p.m., 2008