Discussion → FLASH SEQUENCES

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    Gloria Garfunkel
    Feb 05, 04:17pm

    Some Thoughts on the Prose Sequence

    On the surface, it makes sense to ask of a sequence that each part should be able to stand alone, as an integral object. Otherwise, the question arises, how does such a sequence differ from a short story simply broken up into parts?

    For the sequence to be successful, it must itself function as a poem—that is, as a piece of art surrounded by the frame of silence. And who can ask of a poem that each section stand alone? Who can say of a sonnet: the octet must stand on its own, the sestet as well? We ask only that the entire poem be a piece on its own, entire, pristine and self-reliant.

    Some sequences are indeed composed of integral sections, but in some others the sections can't be isolated without each piece losing its integrity, the whole in this case being more than simply the sum of its parts. In a way, this second sort of sequence is even more complex than what at first seems the ideal, a whole composed of standalone pieces.

    However the pieces are organized, they create a rudimentary montage: narrative, syllogistic, or following some other scheme. We aim to include as many examples of this as possible.

    For questions, email: editor@mariealexanderseries.com



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