Roundup: Genre and Form

As we launch a new blog format for the new year, we’re also looking back at all the great posts since the blog started in 2009.  Our roundups explore the archives and gather past posts around a certain theme to help you jump-start your week.  This week we have posts on genre and form.

Some genre distinctions are clearer than others, but even the most evident divisions can be blurry when examined more closely. These distinctions are sometimes tied to form (one of the most obvious differences between much poetry and prose), and form can also distinguish types of writing within larger genres. Our guest bloggers have tackled both genre and form, with a wide range of focuses, in the following posts.

• Christine Sneed breaks down a difference between genres in “How False Is Your Reality?”
• What makes a short story a short story? And do short stories matter? Greg Schutz explores these questions in his epic, four-part series: The Lonely Reader. Here’s Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.
• As we stray from the topic of genre into form, Weston Cutter has some thoughts on “random” poetry from his conversation with Bob Hicok.
• On the subject of poetry, Catherine Carter discusses form and urges us to “Step Away from the Tab Key…Or Don’t.”
• And to finish up, Weston Cutter has more “Thoughts on Structure” in poetry.

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