num_pages: 496
description: A selection of the best and most representative contemporary American short fiction from 1970 to 2020 including such authors as Ursula K. LeGuin Toni Cade Bambara Jhumpa Lahiri Sandra Cisneros and Ted Chiang hand-selected by celebrated editor and anthologist John Freeman.IN THE PAST fifty years the American short story has changed dramatically. New voices forms and mixtures of genres have brought this unique US genre a thrilling burst of energy. This rich anthology celebrates this avalanche of talent. Beginning in 1970 it culls together a half century of powerful American short stories from all genres including--for the first time in a literary anthology--science fiction horror and fantasy placing writers such as Usula Le Guin Ken Liu and Stephen King next to some of the often-taught geniuses of the form--Grace Paley Toni Cade Bambara Sandra Cisneros and Denis Johnson. Culling widely Freeman the former editor of Granta and now of his own literary annual brings forward some astonishing work to be regarded in a new light. Often overlooked tales by Dorothy Allison Charles Johnson and Toni Morrison will recast the shape and texture of today's enlarging atmosphere of literary dialogue. Stories by Lauren Groff and Ted Chiang raise the spectre of engagement in ecocidal times. Short tales by Tobias Wolff George Saunders and Lydia Davis rub shoulders with near novellas by Susan Sontag and Andrew Holleran. This book will be a treasure trove for readers and teachers alike.
language: English
title: The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story
publisher: Penguin Press