The Debate between Idiom and Clarity of Vision in the Short Short Story

Abstract

This study aims at shedding light on the current situation and future horizons of the short short story, as well as its relationship with other literary genres and the debate concerning its length. The Jordanian experiment in this field, as represented by the work of the short story writer Saud Igbailaat, will be highlighted. This study is an attempt to produce a new image for the short short story at a time when there exist sharp differences in artistic quality, which, in the hands of some writers, becomes an oversimplified endeavor, reaching the point of mere sayings or proverbs. The most prominent example of this devaluation is the appearance of the short short story that is not exceeding a few words in length and with margin explanations and footnotes to compensate for the inadequate economy of words. This study will emphasize the reality of the debate concerning the short short story by a critical analysis of a group of short stories entitled "Mashi" by the Jordanian short story writer Saud Igbailaat. More precisely, this study will show that the real issue is in the creativity of the artist, and not in the literary genre itself. There is no such thing as a good literary genre or a bad one, but a good literary text or a bad one.