The Best American Short Stories 1983
| Editor | Shannon Ravenel and Anne Tyler |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | The Best American Short Stories |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| ISBN | 978-0395348444 |
| Preceded by | The Best American Short Stories 1982 |
| Followed by | The Best American Short Stories 1984 |
The Best American Short Stories 1983, a volume in The Best American Short Stories series, was edited by Shannon Ravenel and by guest editor Anne Tyler. The volume was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.[1][2]
Background
The series is considered one of the "best-known annual anthologies of short fiction"[3] and has anthologized more than 2,000 short stories, including works by some of the most famous writers in contemporary American literature, curated by well-known guest editors since 1915.[4] Specifically, Amy Hempel considered it and the O. Henry Award's prize anthology to compile "the best short fiction published in American and Canadian magazines during the preceding year."[5]
In particular, the Willa Cather Review wrote that The Best American Short Stories series "became a repository of values" for creative writing programs and literary magazines, specifically with considerable "influence" in college libraries, short fiction courses, and fiction workshops.[6]
Critical reception
Kirkus Reviews called Anne Tyler's curation less impressive and idiosyncratic than previous guest editors but called the book "Still—one of the better post-Foley anthologies, with few risks and few inspired moments, but also with few pretensions or embarrassments."[7]
Short stories included
| Author | Story | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Barich | "Hard to Be Good" | The New Yorker |
| Carol Bly | "The Dignity of Life" | Ploughshares |
| James Bond | "A Change of Season" | Epoch |
| Raymond Carver | "Where I'm Calling From" | The New Yorker |
| Carolyn Chute | "“Ollie, Oh...”" | Ploughshares |
| Laurie Colwin | "My Mistress" | Playboy |
| Joseph Epstein | "The Count and the Princess" | The Hudson Review |
| Louise Erdrich | "Scales" | The North American Review |
| Ursula K. Le Guin | "The Professor's Houses" | The New Yorker |
| Ursula K. Le Guin | "Sur (A Summary Report of the Yelcho Expedition to the Antarctic, 1909-10)" | The New Yorker |
| Bobbie Ann Mason | "Graveyard Day" | Ascent |
| Wright Morris | "Victrola" | The New Yorker |
| Guy Vanderhaeghe | "Reunion" | Saturday Night |
| Sharon Sheehe Stark | "Best Quality Glass Company, New York" | Prairie Schooner |
| Robert Taylor, Jr. | "Colorado" | The Ohio Review |
| Marian Thurm | "Starlight" | The New Yorker |
| John Updike | "Deaths of Distant Friends" | The New Yorker |
| Julie Schumacher | "Reunion" | California Quarterly |
| Diane Vreuls | "Beebee " | Shenandoah |
| Larry Woiwode | "Firstborn" | The New Yorker |
References
- ^ Ravenel, Shannon and Tyler, Anne (1983). The Best American Short Stories 1983. Houghton Mifflin (published January 1, 1983). ISBN 978-0395344286.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Allardice, Lisa (2025-02-15). "'It seemed wrong to write about normal life after that horrendous election': US novelist Anne Tyler". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "'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.
- ^ THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 1983 | Kirkus Reviews.