Does anyone really think that it would have been better to have Richard Nixon rather than John Kennedy managing the Cuban Missile Crisis or Stephen Douglas rather than Lincoln confronting the crisis of secession Yet if the American people had made their choices for president in 1960 and 1860 based
2008
Posted inIn All Things
Disdain as an appropriate Moral Posture
It was difficult to greet the news that Ralph Nader is again making a bid for the presidency with anything but disdain His egotism alone justifies the stance The consequence of that egotism in 2000 is icing on the cake I invite all responsible journalists to join in pledging to refuse to mention
Posted inIn All Things
What to Expect at the Final Debate
As the Democratic campaign grows increasingly acrimonious with charges and counter-charges over campaign tactics the debate tonight in Ohio is the best chance Hillary Rodham Clinton has to stall Obama s momentum All weekend she launched a series of increasingly aggravated attacks holding up a
Posted inIn All Things
Gone forever?
Today in The New York Times a story on the fluid religious life of Americans reports that roughly 10 per cent of all Americans are former Catholics The Roman Catholic Church has lost more adherents than any other group Only the influx of Catholic immigrants have kept the over all numbers of chur
Posted inIn All Things
Drew Christiansen on War and Peace
America editor Drew Christiansen S J recently appeared on a panel on War Peace and People of Faith at Marquette University The lecture was part of Marquette s Mission Week and also featured John Dear S J and James Turner Johnson The good folks at Marquette recorded the event and poste
Posted inIn All Things
For all you mothers, sons and daughters
It s sometimes rather difficult for a celibate man–a priest no less–to figure out what types of books articles essays and blogposts might appeal to mothers and fathers but this one I feel has a good shot of doing so since it was recommended by not only The New York Times in an article
Posted inIn All Things
Veepstakes Revisited
While we at America were having trouble with our server we began a Veepstakes wherein I suggested that Sen Jim Webb would be a great vice-presidential candidate for Barack Obama I invited readers to send other suggestions to veepstakes aol com I have received a few replies and will discuss the
Posted inFaith, The Word
Blindness and Sight
The blind man’s progress in spiritual sight reminds us that we need God’s grace and revelation to move toward sharper spiritual vision.
Posted inFrom Our Archives
Blogging the Presidential Primaries
Psychology for Losing There are two times when a political campaign is in most danger of making critical mistakes: first, when a campaign stalls, threatening to go into a tailspin and, second, when a campaign clears a tough hurdle and its self-congratulory sentiments divert it from the next task at
Posted inFrom Our Archives
Really Short Stories
In a Current Comment item in the America issue of March 2, 2008, the editors commented on “microfiction,” the venerable subgenre of fiction that forsakes the traditional short story length, usually multiples of thousands, in favor of extremely brief tales that are sometimes even less than one hundred words. Also known as “flash fiction,” “sudden fiction” and “short shorts,” microfiction normally includes the typical elements of a short story but has to achieve much by allusion, implication and evocation of outside elements. In the Current Comment item, the editors referenced what is perhaps American literary history’s most famous example of microfiction, Ernest Hemingway’s six-word short story: “For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn.” Few facts are present in that sentence, but the reader’s imagination fleshes out the tale in rapid fashion, conjuring up a protagonist, a conflict, and a resolution without much effort.
In an era when many people do their reading in front of a computer rather than in front of a crackling fire (pace Amazon.com’s new “Kindle” electronic reader), microfiction will only grow in popularity, since its format is ideally suited to the single page and the quick read. Some online stories and helpful tips about reading and writing microfiction are linked below, as well as two journals devoted to microfiction and its literary cousins.
The Essentials of Microfiction by Camille Renshaw;