Short stories and poetry

The Decameron ProjectThis short story collection resulted from an invitation the New York Times issued to 29 authors to write new short stories inspired by the moment. The invitation was inspired by Boccaccio’s The Decameron, which  Rivka Galchan discusses in her essay—all presented with innovative, animated illustrations by Sophy Hollington.

On Exactitude in Science by Jorge Luis Borges—This very brief story reminds us that scientific models are simplifications of the real world, only as good as the data used to create them and fraught with challenges in their actual use. In a podcast from The Guardian, Will Self reads the story (minutes :55 - 2:30), and then discusses it.

The Sum of Us, written and read by Tony Walsh, the poem of this pandemic.

Was It Heaven? Or Hell? by Mark Twain—67-year-old twins, Hannah and Hester Gray, are very religious. Their niece, Margaret, is being treated for typhoid when her daughter also contracts the disease. What should Margaret be told?

The Wish for a Good Young Country Doctor by Allan Gurganus—in The Uncollected Stories of Allan Gurganus, 2021—describes a cholera outbreak in a small town in 1849 and prompts questions about how the healthcare heroes of the current pandemic will be remembered in the future.