King of Flash Fiction? (1 Viewer)

[Erik]

I recently came across the term "Flash Fiction" and it seems to me that Buk should be considered a master of this type of story.
Here's what Vestal Review writes about the term:

[...] devoted to what we consider an underrepresented type of fiction: flash (or short-short) stories. A good flash, replete with a cohesive plot, rich language and enticing imagery, is perhaps the hardest type of fiction to write. A good flash is so condensed that it borderlines poetry. A good flash engages your mind not only for the short duration of its read, but for a long time after.​

Anyway, how long has this term been around? Is it something popping up in response to the internet?

What is your favorite "flash fiction piece" by Buk?
One of mine is:https://bukowskiforum.com/showthread.php?t=69

 

[cirerita]

there was this trend not too long ago in Spain and Southamerica to write really short stories or really short flash fiction. Usually, they were one-liners. The most famous one, by Augusto Monterroso, reads this way:

Cuando despertó, el dinosaurio todavía estaba allí.

Which would translate as:
"When he awoke, the dinosaur was still there".

note that the subject is omitted in the original, so it could be "he", "she" or "it". nobody knows who is the subject!!!

 

[cirerita]

A better translation would be:

"Upon waking, the dinosaur was still there".

 

[Johannes]

Yeah. And there is Fredric Brown with the shortest science-fiction-story of all times:

"The last man on earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door ..."

 

[Erik]

Here's a super-short flash by Hemingway:

"For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn."

 

[Brandon g]

Very interesting. Fascinating I say!