"American Shorts was created as a literary arts series. Each part of the seven-part series dealt with topics such as cars, war, sex and fright, and was held in different locations around the Pittsburgh area intended to draw people to various parts of the city," said creative director Paul Schifino. "Local writers, educators and celebrities were asked to present readings of famous American shorts that fit the topic. The series was sponsored in part by the Sprout Fund, a nonprofit organization that contributes seed money to help get projects like these off the ground. This poster was created in July 2003."