I’m currently in a class on prose poetry, and naturally, there’s been a lot of discussion on what separates a prose poem from a short piece of fiction – otherwise known as short shorts or flash fiction, whatever you want to call them. 

And, after reading articles and ruminating on the subject, I’m going to have to say this: it’s the label. 

The first day of class, our professor told us to right-justify the margins on a short, and it’s a prose poem.  Take that right justification away, and it’s a short. 

It got me thinking of other examples of labeling.  I’ve heard Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” called both a short story and a novella.  Same with Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw.” When does the word count tip the scale, turning a short story into a novella?  A novella into a novel?