Microcuentos: Very Short Latin American Fiction in and for Pandemic Times

Luis A. Medina Cordova

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Chapter 9 Microcuentos

Very Short Latin American Fiction in and for Pandemic Times

In: World Literature in and for Pandemic Times

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Luis A. Medina Cordova

Luis A. Medina Cordova
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 121–135

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004744622_010

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Abstract

This article brings attention to a form of narrative fiction that has engaged with the Covid-19 outbreak by embracing social media. Microcuentos, a form of very brief short stories usually referred to as flash fiction in English, have widely circulated across Latin America through digital platforms in pandemic times. But more than simply thriving in a context of globally spread fear, death, and isolation, I argue that – in the 2020s – microcuentos are uniquely suited for pandemic times. By combining narrative intensity condensed in a structurally limited wordcount with social media’s capacity to circulate swiftly and widely, writers of microcuentos across the region have been exceptionally capable of responding to the crisis as it is happening. The case of the Latin American microcuento in the time of Covid-19 invites us to question the hegemony of the novel while rethinking the meanings of World Literature in a pandemic and post-pandemic world.

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World Literature in and for Pandemic Times

Series: Textxet: Studies in Comparative Literature, Volume: 110

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004744622

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 08 Oct 2025

Subjects
- Literature and Cultural Studies

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Chapter 9 Microcuentos

Very Short Latin American Fiction in and for Pandemic Times

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World Literature in and for Pandemic Times

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