“I'll take a [Pavel] Chekhov comparison any day! He's of course one of the great masters at the short story form, and has helped define traditional conflict as we understand it.” StoriesFormCoursesMastersConflictTraditionalComparisonShort StoryChekhov Author:Alexander Weinstein
“While my stories are experimental, they're also very traditional. I love the works of the great Russian writers like [Pavel] Chekhov and [Lev] Tolstoy, and their ability to portray our human struggles and joys.” HumansStoriesJoyAbilityStruggleTraditionalChekhovLev Tolstoy Author:Alexander Weinstein
“I love the Russian absurdists - [Nikolai] Gogol,[Daniil] Kharms, and [Vladimir] Bulgakov. Even within the Russian experimentalists, there's a lineage of traditional narrative, conflict, and character development, which I find vital to my storytelling.” CharacterDevelopmentConflictStorytellingTraditionalNarrativeCharacter DevelopmentLineageGogol Author:Alexander Weinstein
“I really admire the experimentalists who challenge traditional narrative - writers like Ishmael Reed, Michael Martone, Donald Barthelme, Tatyana Tolstaya, George Saunders, and many others.” ChallengesAdmireTraditionalNarrativeReedsIshmael Author:Alexander Weinstein
“David Foster Wallace was a brilliant experimentalist who I deeply admire. His ability to do formalism helped me understand how to tackle stories like "Dictionary" and "Failed Revolution." "Dictionary," in particular, functions against narrative in many ways - each of the definitions are their own mini-story or prose poem, and the collection of them adds up to create a different effect than the traditional Freytagian Pyramid story.” WayDifferentStoriesAbilityEffectsParticularRevolutionFunctionAddDefinitionsBrilliantAdmireTraditionalNarrativeProseCollectionsDictionaryPyramids Author:Alexander Weinstein