Austinist Preview: Amy Hempel

Amy Hempel is a sort of hero for short story writers. While everyone else seems to eventually leave the form to take a crack at the Great American Novel, Hempel has spent thirty years moving in the opposite direction, into shorter and shorter stories. Possibly more than any other American writer, she can claim to be the creator of the "short short" form. It's still hard to argue that anyone does it better. She walks the line between fanciful irony and soft-hearted sentimentalism with a natural balance that would make David Berman jealous.

For those of us who won't go out to a fiction reading without a personal recommendation from Fight Club author Chuck Palanhiuk, here are his thoughts on the subject of Hempel:

Every sentence isn't just crafted, it's tortured over. Every quote and joke, what Hempel tosses out comedian-style, is something funny or profound enough you'll remember it for years. The same way, I sense, Hempel has remembered it, held on to it, saved it for a place where it could really shine. Scary jewelry metaphor, but her stories are studded and set with these compelling bits. Chocolate chip cookies with no bland "cookie" matrix, just nothing but chips and chopped walnuts.

Tomorrow night, she'll be reading in UT's Avaya Auditorium, a guest of the Michener Center for Writers. Admission is open, and she'll be taking questions. If you can't wait, here's a story.