In biweekly sessions of Short Story Reading Club, we will read and discuss short stories by contemporary writers published in literary magazines available in the American Center in Moscow’s free eBook Library.

During these interactive and engaging online sessions, we will have public readings, animated discussions, and do creative writing exercises together to enrich our English, broaden our outlook, and have some literary fun. For each biweekly session (before the session) you will be required to read a specific short story from a digital issue of a literary magazine, which you will be able to borrow and read for free from American Center in Moscow’s eBook Library. Borrowing books and magazines from the library requires creating a free library account; to register for one, go to this page.

Led by Denis Aksenov, long-running host of reading and drama workshops at the American Center in Moscow; founder of Funky Chekhov’s Society; current student at the University of Massachusetts, history & art history majors.

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REQUIRED READING FOR JUNE 30

"Houyhnhnm" by Andre Alexis from the June 20, 2022, issue of The New Yorker. You can borrow this digital issue from the eBook Library here. Please make sure you read the story before the session on June 30.

Trinidadian-Canadian writer Andre Alexis received the Windham-Campbell prize for fiction in 2017. His novels include “Childhood,” “Fifteen Dogs,” and “Days by Moonlight,” and his story collection, “The Night Piece,” was published in 2020.

"Houyhnhnm"—named after the race of rational, speaking horses in  Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels”—tells the story of how first a father and then his son develop a relationship with a horse they believe can speak English and discuss philosophical matters. Here’s how it starts:

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ALL AMERICAN CENTER IN MOSCOW EVENTS ARE FREE OF CHARGE / ВСЕ МЕРОПРИЯТИЯ АМЕРИКАНСКОГО ЦЕНТРА В МОСКВЕ БЕСПЛАТНЫ

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This session is hosted on Zoom, so if you are interested in joining, please create a Zoom account beforehand. When registering below, please submit your valid email address to receive a link to the Zoom meeting 30 minutes before the session begins.

To join other AMC Online programs, please check the American Center’s TimePad calendar.