The guide offers works by a variety of acclaimed authors, including Leo Tolstoy, Mark Twain, Kate Chopin, Rudyard Kipling, James Joyce and Edith Wharton. Features of the guide include individual biographical notes for each writer, a short introduction to his or her short story, and a critical “Thinking About the Story” section for each text – including incisive discussion questions formulated to help students respond to each story insightfully. Similarly, the guide’s creative activities have been devised to engage critical and imaginative thinking in the reader, as well as to offer an understanding of authorship and the creative process. A concise glossary of literary terms, designed for optimal and regular use, is also included.
Christopher Linforth was a finalist in the ‘Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook’ Novel Writing Competition in 2007. He has had work published in ‘Denver Quarterly’, ‘Permafrost’, ‘Camas’, and many other literary journals. He was recently awarded a Fellowship to the Colgate Writers’ Conference (2010) and a scholarship to the New York State Writers’ Conference (2010). For several years he taught writing and literature at Kansas State University and Northern Michigan University. He is currently a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) fellow at Virginia Tech.