407Z Summer 2026 Literary Roundtable

This is an ongoing short story discussion class using the short story anthology, The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story, edited by John Freeman. Published by Penguin Press, 2021 (HB), 2022 (Paper). The book is available to order online from a variety of sources, including on Kindle and audio. The anthology includes 50 stories and is a selection of the best and most representative contemporary American short fiction from 1970 to 2020, including from such authors as Ursula K. LeGuin, Toni Cade Bambara, Jhumpa Lahiri, Sandra Cisneros, and Ted Chiang.

Yasha Haas Arant is a long-time OLLI Mason member and a participant in the Literary Roundtable for about three years. She holds a Fine Arts degree from Ohio's Notre Dame College and retired from Lockheed Martin after 29 years. She participates in three book clubs and has a life-long love of literature.

Pat Bangs is a long-time member of OLLI Mason. She has attended the Literary Roundtable for a decade and holds an MFA in Fiction from George Mason University. She loves the short story format.