Trine’s Short Story Club announces 2024-2025 schedule

Trine University’s Short Story Club, sponsored by the Humanities Institute, has announced its selections for the fall and spring semesters.

The club is designed for those who like talking about stories and ideas with others, but don’t have time to read a novel. It meets virtually, with participants receiving a copy of the story and a Teams link prior to each meeting.

All meetings begin at 5:30 p.m.

Relationships, puzzles

Stories in the fall semester will cover the theme of troubled relationships.

On Sept. 19, the club will discuss “Tinged” by Jan Carson. In “Tinged,” a family struggles with perceptions of grief in dealing with a mother's cancer.

“Goat” by James McBride will be covered on Oct. 17. The story of a young boy in a very poor neighborhood who can run incredibly fast, “Goat” covers the effects of socioeconomic status on perception and reality.

On Nov. 21, the fall finishes, appropriately enough, with “November Story” by Rebecca Makkai. “November Story” contrasts attempts to manufacture romance on a reality TV show with the crumbling relationship in the narrator’s real life.

Stories in the spring feature main characters trying to find a solution to something that puzzles them.

On Jan. 16, the club will discuss “Cuisine des Mémoires” by N.K. Jemisin. A magical restaurant recreates meals from any time in history or any memory.

“El Tim” by Lucia Berlin will be covered on Feb. 20. In this story, a charismatic boy disrupts a Catholic school with his sly behavior.

The last short story of the year will be “The Foster Portfolio” by Kurt Vonnegut, featured on March 20. In “The Foster Portfolio,” a new investment counselor discovers there is more than meets the eye to a seemingly penniless client.

For additional information, or to get a story and Teams link, contact Jeanette Goddard, Ph.D., associate professor in Trine University’s Department of Humanities and Communication and director of the Humanities Institute, at goddardj@trine.edu.

The Humanities Institute coordinates innovative programs and events for the Trine University community and beyond.