Chapter I: Preface

For many years the teaching of narrative writing in American colleges was dominated by the popularity of the short-story. The reason for this lay in the high development of that form and in its wide dissemination in popular magazines. In many cases, material not strictly suited to the short-story was either rejected entirely or distorted to fit the highly specialized requirements of that form. Within the last ten years a change has become apparent. The war produced a marked rise of interest in straightforward narratives of personal experiences. Such books as _The First Hundred Thousand_ needed no plot structure to attract public attention. At the same time, interest in the lives of non-combatants in the war zones, as well as in the experiences of soldiers in the trenches gave to letters and diaries a greater popularity than they had enjoyed for a generation. Since the war, biography and autobiography have been greeted with warmest enthusiasm, and historical fiction of various kinds has taken a prominent place in public esteem.

In the meantime, college courses in narrative have been hampered by the lack of a text book affording readily accessible models of narratives other than short-stories. The present volume does not pretend to afford a complete survey of the field of narration; it is designed to furnish models and some helpful suggestions for the study of twelve types of narratives, all of which are within the range of the interest of college students. The selections included are, in most cases, those we have found useful in our own classes in Sophomore Composition.

The compilation of a book of selections leaves the editors indebted to many people whom they are powerless to repay. Acknowledgment of permissions to use material has been made in the body of the text, and we are sincerely grateful to those authors and publishers whose kindness has made our work both possible and pleasant. We have profited greatly by suggestions and criticisms from practically every member of the staff of Sophomore Composition at the University of Minnesota. Furthermore we owe especial thanks to Mr. Joseph M. Thomas of the University of Minnesota, for his kind encouragement and generous assistance; to Miss Marjorie Nicolson, of Goucher College, for her timely advice and counsel; and to those students in Narrative Writing who consciously and unconsciously have cooperated with us, and whose enthusiasm and responsiveness in the class room have been our constant inspiration in this work.

M. E. C.
F. DEL. P.