Short Story Club: July with J.F. Powers

Instructor: Michael O’Connell
Four Wednesdays in July:
July 1, 8, 15 and 22, 2026
Live on Zoom
12-1 p.m. ET / 9-10 a.m. PT
Cost: $60
Max participants: 20

In this course we will immerse ourselves in the short stories of J.F. Powers. Powers stands with Flannery O’Connor and Walker Percy as one the giants of 20^th-century American Catholic fiction, but he is less often read and discussed these days than the other two writers. In this course, we will attempt to rectify this!

Powers is best known for writing about the lives of mid-century Catholic priests; priests are the protagonists of both of his novels — the National Book Award winning “Morte D’Urban” (1962) the National Book Award finalist “Wheat that Springeth Green” (1988) — and of many of his short stories. This somewhat narrow focus on the lives of (mostly) pre-Vatican II priests is often given as the reason he is now less widely read than O’Connor and Percy, but in our readings and discussions we will see that his masterfully crafted stories, whether they have a priestly protagonist or not, actually have a great deal to say to our contemporary moment.

Powers’s stories depict the Catholic Church struggling with how to engage with the modern world, and they explore how the allure of power and popularity can be a corrupting influence on the American psyche, both for the clergy and the laity alike. These are issues that the church, and American culture at large, continue to grapple with, and Powers’s stories can help us see these tensions in new ways.

Photo of J.F. Powers courtesy of Katherine A. Powers

Course Structure

Reading Schedule

About the Instructor

This seminar style course will meet over Zoom, from 12-1 p.m. ET / 9-10 a.m. PT, over four Wednesdays in July (1, 8, 15 and 22). Each week we will read and discuss one of his short stories, supplemented with optional readings from his interviews and essays. We will look at the development of his style and subject matter, paying particular attention to the spiritual themes in his stories. An underlying assumption of this course is that deep, sustained engagement with texts can be a transformative experience for the reader. When we take the time to slow down and look closely at the elements of craft that go into creating a work of fiction, and to reflect on the deeper themes that are embedded in the work, we come away from this encounter changed. This course will provide the opportunity to undertake this kind of engagement with a community of supportive fellow readers, guided by an expert in the field. The assigned reading materials will be provided as PDFs, and the course will include a message board where people can discuss the stories in between the Zoom meetings.

Week 1: “The Presence of Grace” Week 2: “Prince of Darkness” Week 3: “Lions, Harts, Leaping Does” Week 4: “Look How the Fish Live

Michael O’Connell is a writer, editor and educator who lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Since earning his Ph.D. in American literature from Loyola University Chicago, he has spent over a decade teaching literature and humanities courses at the university level, both online and in person. He is the editor of “Conversations with George Saunders” (University Press of Mississippi, 2022), author of “Startling Figures: Encounters with American Catholic Fiction” (Fordham University Press, 2023), and co-editor of “The Journal of David Foster Wallace Studies.” His essays have appeared in a wide array of peer-reviewed academic journals, as well as literary journals, magazines and websites. He is currently the inaugural fellow at the Jesuit Media Lab.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the Short Story Club, email Mike Jordan Laskey at medialab@jesuits.org.

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