shamash says... : "The Hemingway Challenge"

Wednesday, 02 November 2005

"The Hemingway Challenge"

I give you the

Hemingway Challenge.

Write a story in six words.

Here’s mine.

I missed catching up with the gang at the S., celebrating Indian Diwali at the home of one of my students, and seeing the much-anticipated play that Romeo Romeo was directing.

The latter was the tragedy of tragedies. Woe is me. Seriously. But, I was sick in bed with an unshakable case of the flu all weekend.

I was, however, able to catch up on my reading, and thoroughly enjoyed this excerpt from an article in the July/August issue of The Utne that Dr. Top Ten sent:

“Earnest Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in six words. The result: ‘For sale: baby shoes, never used.’ Rumor has it that Hemingway regarded it as his greatest work. Stirred by this masterwork, the editors of BlackBook asked 25 of today’s most renowned writers to offer their own original six-word stories.” – p. 92

Here are my favorites:

“Forgive me!” “What for?” “Never mind.” – John Updike

Eyeballed me, killed him. Slight exaggeration.-- Irvine Welsh

Satan- Jehovah- fifteen rounds. A draw. – Norman Mailer

I saw. I conquered. Couldn’t come. - David Lodge

Oh, that? It’s nothing. Not contagious.- Augusten Burroughs

She gave. He took. He forgot – Tobias Wolff.