Rummaging Around Short Story Collections With Xuan Juliana Wang

At the Rumpus, Xuan Juliana Wang discusses the art of the short story in a round table that includes Kimberly King Parsons, Dantiel W. Moniz, Mary South, and Ashley Wurzbacher. The panel shares their thoughts on crafting a collection, along with what draws them to short stories in the first place. “Story collections, to me, are like a coat full of pockets,” Wang says, “and I’m just rooting around looking for some trinket or tasty snack I can eat. I’ve always found my way to story collections in this way: I read a story I like in a journal or anthology and immediately hunt for the writer’s collection. Then, I read stories in order of the titles I like most. There’s no better way to discover the scope of a writer’s ambitions and obsessions than to read their collection.”