Entering literature’s silly season—announcements of various beauty contests, long lists,short lists, judging contretemps and general critical mayhem, I have vowed to take a glass half-full approach. So ok, these things bring attention to books (though not necessarily reading) and keep various lemmings occupied reducing their opportunities from creating any real critical harm. By the way, none of this is to suggest that the books that are part of this circus are not worthy. The problem, as always, are the books that are excluded from mainstream attention.
One thing that has struck me recently is the need for breaking off short fiction from the fiction in these assorted book tournaments— just as poetry, and children’s fiction (not to mention non fiction ) are viable distinctions. Anyway, in the spirit of celebrating short fiction and forwarding this exciting idea, here are some collections and anthologies to peruse(be thankful for university presses):
Oxford Book American Short Stories by Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates (Oxford University Press)
The News From Spain by Joan Wickersham
by Joian Wickersham (Knopf)
East of the West: A Country in Stories by Miroslav Penkov
by Miroslav Penkov (Picador)
Tell Everyone I Said Hi by Chad Simpson
by Chad Simpson (University of Iowa Press)
Grit Lit A Rough South Reader Edited by Brian Carpenter and Tom Franklin
Edited by Brian Carpenter and Tom Franklin ( University of South Carolina Press)
Winged Shoes and a Shield: Collected Stories by Don Bajema (City Lights)
Best American Short Stories 2012 edited by Tom Perrota
edited by Tom Perrota (Houghton Mifflin)
Best European Fiction 2012 edited by Alexandr Hemon(Dalkey Archive)
OBJECT LESSONS by The Paris Review
(Picador)
The Invisibles Stories by Hugh Sheehy
by Hugh Sheehy (University of Georgia Press)
Currently reading The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving: A Novel by Jonathan Evison (Algonquin Books)
Tags: Alexandr Hemon, Brian Carpenter, Chad Simpson, Don Bajema, Hugh Sheehy, Joan Wickersham, Joyce Carol Oates, Miroslav Penkov, Paris review, Tom Franklin, Tom Perrota
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