Tough(?) Short Story ID

Cafe Society
1

I had asked about this same story once before many years ago but with no results so I am going to try again.

A professor in a Creative Writing class I took in the early 90s read it to us but it was from a published book, not written by someone in the class or anything.

Basically it was written from the point of view of a fish but since a fish has tiny brain, it is written in simple declarative sentences almost like a poem. The first and last line are both something like “I am hungry; I must eat.” but it goes on about how it lives among its “brothers” but its brothers are just food. The whole thing is basically about swimming and eating.

It was very short. Written out it would probably have only been a page or a page and half.

I know it isn’t much to go on and I have Googled many times but turned up empty. Does it sound familiar to anyone?

2

Why not track down the professor and ask him?

3

I don’t have an answer for you, but that type of story is called a “short-short” and there are some anthologies devoted to them. My impression is that they were a bit of “thing” in the 90s.

Sudden Fiction (1983) and Sudden Fiction International (1989) and Sudden Fiction (continued) (1996)
Flash Fiction (1992)
Micro Fiction (1996)

4

Hmm, I own the first 3 of those and can take a quick look. Or a bunch of quick looks, I guess. :slight_smile:

5

That would be awesome if you could check, thank you, because I am starting to think writing short-shorts was indeed the topic that brought up the story.

As far as contacting the Prof…I barely remember what she looks like, let alone her name… It was a long time ago. I’m old. :slight_smile: