By Jade Harrison
Developments in data collection and analysis give us rich opportunities to examine the artistic decisions Black writers make in their short fiction. Equipped with precise numerical data on stories, authors, characters, dialogue, and narrative settings, we can now identify recurring patterns, trace creative choices across works, and uncover dimensions of Black literary art that might otherwise escape our attention.
Hurston’s 25 stories range from 328 to 8,122 words, which can help us consider the variance between short stories and short stories. If a 300-word take is a short, short story then is an 8,122 word narrative a long short story?
More than 590 characters appear across Hurston’s stories, and pinpointing the specific number of settings in which they appear, the frequency with which they speak, and the distribution of their dialogue allows us to identify larger patterns in Hurston’s storytelling and compare the narrative roles of different characters.
Using data to examine a writer’s formal and artistic decisions opens new possibilities for literary interpretation. Imagine the possibilities of tracking patterns across dozens, or even hundreds, of stories by multiple writers. Data-informed approaches allow us to extend the work we have long been doing in African American literary studies, revealing broader patterns, uncovering new connections, and expanding our understanding of Black literary art.
Related:
No comments:
Post a Comment