Daniil Kharms & Russian Microfiction
What is most important in standard fiction is not the PLOT or events
of the story, but how these events or conflicts AFFECT a character
(i.e., how the character reacts to a situation).
In Daniil Kharms "Mini Stories" this is not the case. Instead, he is poking fun of the fictional form. Each mini-story is constructed like a joke, with a powerful punch line at the end. Characters, plot, and conflicts are simply there to create the illusion of importance, significance, and relevance that one expects from a standard story. In this way, Kharms is at once writing meta-fiction (fiction about fiction), but also commenting on the absurdity of human beings and the odd way our brains work. These stories are sprinkled with overstatement, understatement, hyperbole, incongruity, non-sequitars, and often: situational irony. We laugh because the cause and effect we have come to study in plot is illogical or missing. We laugh because characters we hardly know come to tragic ends in odd ways. We laugh because there is something at once true, albeit absurd, hidden within the lines of these short stories.
PROJECT idea: Write an absurd mini-story or play scene of your own. Form these like short narrative jokes, with a punch line ready at the end that redirects the story or adds the subtle juxtaposition of human meaning at the end. You may wish to write a symphony of your own, or pick a real author or historical figure and write fictional Anecdotes about his/her life. You may wish to do several of these pieces. Keep all in your portfolio.
In Daniil Kharms "Mini Stories" this is not the case. Instead, he is poking fun of the fictional form. Each mini-story is constructed like a joke, with a powerful punch line at the end. Characters, plot, and conflicts are simply there to create the illusion of importance, significance, and relevance that one expects from a standard story. In this way, Kharms is at once writing meta-fiction (fiction about fiction), but also commenting on the absurdity of human beings and the odd way our brains work. These stories are sprinkled with overstatement, understatement, hyperbole, incongruity, non-sequitars, and often: situational irony. We laugh because the cause and effect we have come to study in plot is illogical or missing. We laugh because characters we hardly know come to tragic ends in odd ways. We laugh because there is something at once true, albeit absurd, hidden within the lines of these short stories.
PROJECT idea: Write an absurd mini-story or play scene of your own. Form these like short narrative jokes, with a punch line ready at the end that redirects the story or adds the subtle juxtaposition of human meaning at the end. You may wish to write a symphony of your own, or pick a real author or historical figure and write fictional Anecdotes about his/her life. You may wish to do several of these pieces. Keep all in your portfolio.
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