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Summary
Summary
The best new American voices are heard here first:
Writers like Julie Orringer, Adam Johnson, William Gay, David Benioff, Rattawut Lapcharoensap, Maile Meloy, Amanda Davis, Jennifer Vanderbes, and John Murray are just some of the acclaimed authors whose early work has appeared in this series since its launch in 2000.
The new volume features a new crop of promising stories selected by renowned novelist Jane Smiley, who continues the tradition of identifying the best young writers on the cusp of their careers. Culled from hundreds of writing programs like the Iowa Writers' Workshop and Johns Hopkins and from summer conferences like Sewanee and Bread Loaf-and including a complete list of contact information for these programs-this exciting collection showcases tomorrow's literary stars.
Author Notes
Jane Smiley was born in Los Angeles, California on September 26, 1949. She received a B. A. from Vassar College in 1971 and an M.F.A. and a Ph.D from the University of Iowa. From 1981 to 1996, she taught undergraduate and graduate creative writing workshops at Iowa State University. Her books include The Age of Grief, The Greenlanders, Moo, Horse Heaven, Ordinary Love and Good Will, Some Luck, and Early Warning. In 1985, she won an O. Henry Award for her short story Lily, which was published in The Atlantic Monthly. A Thousand Acres received both the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
Kirkus Review
Many roads are traveled in this sixth gathering of the best stories culled from the nation's writing programs and conferences. Novelist and critic Smiley (Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel, p. 782) approvingly notes the benefits such institutions offer to both writers and readers--and there's indeed much to stimulate readers' brains in the range of subjects and effects these 15 stories encompass. Unfamiliar cultures and faraway places are explored in Matt Friedson's depiction of life in, and out of, a "Reeducation Center for Delinquent Youths" in wartime Vietnam ("Liberty") and Jessica Anthony's claustrophobic monologue spoken by a U.S. World War II soldier stranded in a South Pacific jungle ("The Rust Preventer"). In alien cultures closer to home, Melanie Westerberg delineates the complex emotions of a female aquarium worker attracted by the sleek beauty of sharks ("Watermark"), and Andrew Foster Altschul's conflicted narrator wrestles with mingled empathy and rage at a shelter for abused women ("A New Kind of Gravity"). Conventional narrative is deliberately fragmented by the sexually confused California slacker who narrates Albert E. Martinez's "Useless Beauty . . ." (a story spun from an Esquire magazine feature) and in Kaui Hart Hemmings's story of an alienated girl's attempts to describe her feelings about her drug-dealing father ("Begin with an Outline"). Realism is eschewed altogether in Jennifer Shaff's ruefully comic picture of a bereaved phys-ed teacher whose grief is healed by a "visitation" from Star Trek's Mr. Spock ("Leave of Absence"). It's equaled, perhaps surpassed by, Michelle Regalado Deatrick's beautifully paced revelation of a lonely boy's guilt over the accident that destroyed his family and shaped his later life ("Backfire"). This little masterpiece stands out among several varied depictions of filial conflict (Amber Dermont's "Lyndon," Gegory Plemmons's plaintive "Twinless") and family unhappiness (Sian M. Jones's "Pilot," Sean Ennis's "Going After Lovely"). Impressive craftsmanship and high imaginative quality distinguish an annual that's becoming an essential. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
This "best" annual seeks outstanding short stories by participants in the nation's 370-plus college and university writing programs. So far each guest editor has selected some writers who go on to great success. Last year, for example, Francine Prose selected Rattawut Lapcharoensap, whose first book, Sightseeing0 (2004), is a big hit, and Eric Puchner, whose debut story collection is forthcoming. The short story owes its continued vitality to writing workshops, notes this edition's astute guest editor, Jane Smiley, who also states, "I never write short stories, and as a reader, I find them a little scary." She also avers, "Short stories are hard to write." That said, Smiley has chosen extraordinarily well crafted and intense examples. In Jennifer Shaff's "Leave of Absence," a young PE instructor mourning the death of her parents discovers Spock, of Star Trek 0 fame, in her basement. Andrew Foster Altschul writes with high-voltage insight about a man working as a guard in a woman's shelter. The aftermath of Vietnam, twins, a failed marriage, love, unexpected rescue--all are dramatized in unpredictable and indelible ways. --Donna Seaman Copyright 2005 Booklist
Table of Contents
Preface | p. vii |
IntroductionJane Smiley | |
Leave of AbsenceJennifer Shaff | |
LyndonAmber Dermont | |
A New Kind of GravityAndrew Foster Altschul | |
The Rust PreventerJessica Anthony | |
TrampolineVanya Rainova | |
WatermarkMelanie Westerberg | |
Useless Beauty OR Notes on ESQUIRE's "Things a Man Should Never Do After the Age of 30"Albert E. Martinez | |
The Jupiter's InSarah Blackman | |
Alice's HouseJamie Keene | |
LibertyMatt Freidson | |
TwinlessGregory Plemmons | |
BackfireMichelle Regalado Deatrick | |
Begin with an OutlineKaui Hart Hemmings | |
Going After LovelySean Ennis | |
PilotSian M. Jones | |
Contributors Participants |