Yonnondio: From the Thirties
Pillars of American literature, these two newly repackaged  titles have been loved and admired by readers for decades.  Set during  the Depression,Yonnondio:From The Thirtiesis the  timeless and hauntingly timely story of the Holbrook family, struggling  for a more tolerable existence.  Written by the author in the 1930s and  rediscovered by her in the 1970s,Yonnondiowill always be an  unfinished work that makes us long for more of that young author's  brilliance.  This reissue presents newly discovered fragments and  scenes that satisfy some of that longing and give a more complete  picture of the fate of the mother, Anna, one of literature's most  believable and enduring woman.Tell Me A Riddleis a collection  of four stories: "I Stand Here Ironing," "Hey Sailor, What Ship?," "O  Yes," and the title novella, which won the O. Henry Award in 1961.   Anthologized over a hundred times, the stories live on in the hearts of  readers everywhere.  John Leonard provides a new introduction that is a  personal reminiscence as well as reaffirmation of Olsen's place in  American literature's pantheon of great writers. Tillie Olsen, winner  of the 1994 Rae Award for the Short Story, was born in Nebraska in  1912.  A Depression-era high school dropout, public libraries were her  college.  She wrote and published when young, but the necessity of  raising and supporting four children through "everyday jobs" silenced  her for twenty years.  The recipient of six honorary degrees and many  other awards, she has taught or been writer-in-residence at M.I.T.,  Amherst College, and Stanford University, among others.  She lives in  San Francisco.