Reading Workshop - Dance in America by Lorrie Moore

We'll be meeting in the restaurant of the Doubletree Suites. The Doubletree Suites Hotel is located at 50 S Front St. Columbus 43215. The first six floors of the building are a parking garage, and the floor above that is marked “Lobby”—that’s where we’ll be. On that floor is a swanky pub/restaurant. You can park either in the aforementioned parking garage or at the meters right outside the building on Front St. If you’re parked in the garage, you don’t need to leave the building, simply find the elevator and take it up to the floor marked “Lobby.” If you’re on the street, go through the sliding doors and the elevators will be on your right.

The Reading Workshop is where we look at great works of short fiction from a writer's perspective. We try to figure out just what makes a story great and how we can apply it to our own work. This month we'll be reading "Dance in America" by Lorrie Moore. This story can be found in the short story collection Birds of America. You can also listen to Louise Erdrich read the story here:

https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/fiction/louise-erdrich-reads-lorrie-moore

Some questions to mull over before the meet up:

1. What is the engine that drives this story?
2. Was there a technique, character, perspective, etc. that you found particularly compelling?
3. What were some of the story's most delicious details?
4. What are you going to take from this story and apply to your own work?

That's it for our questions. Feel free to bring your own!