The Best American Short Stories 1961
| Editor | Martha Foley |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | The Best American Short Stories |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
| Media type | |
| ISBN | 9789997371331 |
| Preceded by | The Best American Short Stories 1960 |
| Followed by | The Best American Short Stories 1962 |
The Best American Short Stories 1961 is a volume in The Best American Short Stories series edited by Martha Foley. The volume was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.[1]
Background
The series is considered one of the "best-known annual anthologies of short fiction"[2] and has anthologized more than 2,000 short stories, including works by some of the most famous writers in contemporary American literature.[3][4][5]
In particular, the Willa Cather Review wrote that The Best American Short Stories series "became a repository of values" for creative writing programs, college libraries, and literary magazines.[6] The Los Angeles Times, reflecting on the hundred-year anniversary of the series, noted that it eventually became an "institution" itself, often being taught in classrooms.[7]
Short stories included
| Author | Story | Source |
|---|---|---|
| James Baldwin | "This Morning, This Evening, So Soon" | The Atlantic Monthly |
| John Barry | "The Listener" | New World Writing (New American Library) |
| Alfred Chester | "Berceuse" | Esquire |
| W. H. Gass | "The Love and Sorrow of Henry Pimber" | Accent |
| Ivan Gold | "The Nickel Misery of George Washington Carver Brown" | Esquire |
| William Goyen | "A Tale of Inheritance" | Southwest Review |
| Mark Harris | "The Self-Made Brain Surgeon" | The Noble Savage |
| Kaatje Hurlbut | "The Vestibule" | The Literary Review |
| Theodore Jacobs | "A Girl for Walter" | Mutiny |
| Mary Lavin | "The Yellow Beret" | The New Yorker |
| Jack Ludwig | "Confusions" | The Tamarack Review |
| Willard Marsh | "Mexican Hayride" | Esquire |
| St. Clair McKelway | "First Marriage" | The New Yorker |
| Jeannie Olive | "Society" | The University of Kansas City Review |
| Tillie Olsen | "Tell Me a Riddle" | New World Writing (New American Library) |
| William Peden | "Night in Funland" | New Mexico Quarterly |
| Thomas Pynchon | "Entropy" | The Kenyon Review |
| Samuel Sandmel | "The Colleagues of Mr. Chips" | Prairie Schooner |
| Peter Taylor | "Miss Leonora When Last Seen" | The New Yorker |
| Ellington White | "The Perils of Flight" | The Georgia Review |
References
- ^ Foley, Martha, ed. (January 1, 1961). The Best American Short Stories 1961. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9789997371331.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - ^ "Short and Sweet" by Mark Harris, Entertainment Weekly, 11/05/99, issue 511, page 73.
- ^ "The Best American Short Stories of the Century," Publishers Weekly, 3/8/1999, volume 246, issue 10, page 47.
- ^ Hempel, Amy (1986-02-09). "The Best American Short Stories 1985 : edited by Gail Godwin with Shannon Ravenel (Houghton Mifflin; $14.95, hardcover; $8.95, paperback; 300 pp.)". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ "Best Stories of the Century? Not Quite, but Close Enough". Observer. 1999-05-10. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
- ^ "'Long-Cellared Wine': 'Double Birthday,' Edward J. H. O'Brien, and the Best American Short Stories Series" by Timothy W. Bintrim and Scott Riner, Willa Cather Review, spring 2023, volume 64, issue 1, page 18.
- ^ "Review: '100 Years of Best American Short Stories' is vital yet flawed for loading the canon". Los Angeles Times. 2015-10-09. Retrieved 2025-04-10.