I had a tough time classifying the “very short stories” of A.L. Snijders. They often blurred the rules between flash fiction and prose poetry (and sometimes short nonfiction). I thought I had an easier task with Karen Brennan until I got to “A Theft.”
The story is only 10 lines long, about a quarter of a page. In it, a nanny stole a list of items from the first-person narrator. The nanny had looked untrustworthy because she had a deformed eye. Not wanting to be offensive, the narrator had made a point of trusting in her…and was robbed.
I once read an interview of Chicago police officers and one made the point that many people are robbed or murdered out of politeness. They see a shady individual and, as not to be impolite, they get in an elevator or other dangerous place with them. In this way, crime favors the rude.
I would consider “A Theft” to be a prose poem up until the closing line which comes down like a punchline to a joke. In terms of the standard definition of plot, “A Theft” has a complete plot and therefore seems less like an image-based prose poem.
I know I obsess over the question of fiction or poetry but I’d like to think my English Master’s degree is good for something.
The beginning of “A Theft” with its long list of stolen goods feels more like a poem. While this created some confusion of the work’s nature (at least with me), the strong, condensed details kept the story from coming off like a joke.
While it’s a little on the cynical side, “A Theft” is a good story to make a reader think about the boundaries between fiction and poetry. Now that I’m finished with teaching, I’m finding so many works that would be great for a test.
The New Rambler 
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