Talk:George Saunders

Redirect information
As I found this page, I was expecting to see a page about George Sanders the English actor (note spelling). Perhaps a small redirect would be appropriate here and also a reverse one on the George Sanders page?

A Swim in a Pond just an essay??
I was surprised to see Saunders' 2021 book, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: in which four Russians give a master class on writing, reading, and life, listed at the end of an Essays and Reporting sub-sub-category. Is an entire book that is essentially a course in short-story fiction writing really just one essay, or just reporting? He clearly builds as he goes along, and it is more a course in writing than anything else--in fact, it's based on a semester-length course he's been teaching for 20 years.

I suggest it should have its own category, probably located above the Other category, following Short Fiction. In fact, since what the book is about is short fiction, that seems most appropriate. Also, unlike most criticism or essay collections, he includes the complete text of each of the seven stories being discussed--a substantially effective tool in a reader's understanding of the writing mechanisms he's analyzing.

I am questioning what the label should be for this subcategory. Any votes? Literary criticism. Writing instruction. Writing analysis and instruction. Short story analysis.

I came to this topic looking to see what Wikipedia has to offer about the book, and had to do a ctrl-f search to find anything. This book has enormous impact. Comments, please? Susanzwitter (talk) 16:09, 10 June 2023 (UTC)