Short Diary Fiction

Desirée Henderson is Professor of English at the University of Texas Arlington, USA, where she specializes in American literature, life writing, and women’s writing. Tracey Daniels-Lerberg is Assistant Professor (Lecturer) and Associate Writing Program Administrator, University of Utah, USA.

• IntroductionEditors’ Note- Henry James, “The Landscape Painter” (1866)- Constance Fenimore Woolson, “Misery Landing” (1874)- Anton Chekhov, “From the Diary of a Violent-Tempered Man” (1887)- Silvina Ocampo, “The Diary of Porfiria Bernal” (1900)- Shiga Naoya, “The Diary of Claudius” (1912)- Lu Xun, “Diary of a Madman” (1918)- Virginia Woolf, “The Legacy” (1940)- Marcel Aymé, “Tickets on Time” (1943)- Donald Barthelme, “Me and Miss Mandible” (1964)- Wolfdietrich Schnurre, “Diary of a Dayfly” (1964)- Jane Bowles, “Emmy Moore’s Journal” (1973)- Ian McEwan, “Solid Geometry” (1975)- Ursula K. Le Guin, “The Diary of a Rose” (1982)- Ian Vladislavic, “Journal of a Wall” (1989)- Sherley Anne Williams, “Meditations on History” (1989)- Greg Egan, “The Hundred Light-Year Diary” (1992)- Gina Berriault, “The Diary of KW” (1996)- Michelle Cliff, “A Public Woman” (1996)- Helen Simpson, “Diary of an Interesting Year” (2009)- Mpho Phalwane, “Per Annum” (2018)Recommended Further ReadingSources and Permissions

Fantastic collection of short diary fiction from around the world. The reader discovers the many ingenious ways in which writers, ranging from Henry James to Mpho Phalwane, have used the diary form and the idea of the diary in stories. The editors' introduction to the anthology provides helpful background and context, and each individual selection has its own informative introduction.