The Pushcart Prize XXII: Best of the Small Presses (Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses) [Paperback]

Bill Henderson (Editor, Introduction), Pushcart Prize Editors (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses | Publication Date: June 1998

Pushcart Prize XXII continues as a testament to the flourishing of American literature in our small presses. Edited with the assistance of over 200 distinguished contributing editors--including Andr Dubus, Joyce Carol Oates, Rosellen Brown, Rick Bass, Carolyn Kizer, Edward Hoagland, Rita Dove, Naomi Shihab Nye, Sandra Tsing Loh, and Sharon Olds--this volume celebrates over 60 stories, essays, and poems from dozens of little magazines and small presses. It seems that the more commercial publishers consolidate into a few companies, the more small presses capture and encourage what is truly lasting and important in our literary culture. Each edition of The Pushcart Prize has increased from strength to strength as the small presses expand in influence and energy. The reviews and features for last year's edition confirmed this strength. "A generous and stimulatingly eclectic selection of fiction, poetry and essays--the biggest anthology in the 21-year history of the Pushcart Press," said Publishers Weekly in a starred review. "The largest and most adventurous volume so far," commented Booklist. "The Pushcart Prize has become a literary institution . . . perhaps the single best measure of the state of affairs in American literature today," noted the New York Times. Books in this series have been named "a Notable Book of the year" several times by the New York Times Book Review; winner of the Publishers Weekly Carey-Thomas Award.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An exceptionally strong sampling. -- New Republic

Fascinating. -- Time

Invaluable. -- LA Reader

Of all the anthologies, Pushcart's is the most rewarding. -- Chicago Tribune

Product Details

• Paperback: 658 pages
• Publisher: Pushcart Press; 22nd edition (June 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888889071
• ISBN-13: 978-1888889079
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,706,037 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PUSHCART PRIZE XXII, April 16, 2002

By 

l. Pavelko (PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pushcart Prize XXII: Best of the Small Presses (Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses) (Paperback)

Pushcart Prize is an annual offering, a collection of short fiction, essays, memoirs and poetry. For anyone strapped for time (and who isn't these days) short pieces may satisfy the bibliophile's appetite. I have delved into several volumes of this series, and I think XXII is the BEST. The editors of the series choose from small and little known literary journals, often highlighting the brilliance of fledgling writers and occasionally better known writers. In Vol. XXII a story titled WOMEN DREAMING OF JERSULAM tells the story of a shelter for battered women in Jerusalem. With all the turmoil in the Middle East these days, it is a perfectly appropriate story. Within the Shelter are Jewish women from Russia, Hungary, America, Ethopia. Their stories are wrenchingly revealed and brilliantly written. The divisions among them reveal human (with a capital H) at their worst, and most natural. A real page turner. It is impossible to review all the offerings in this volume, but as a collection of diverse authors I find it the best I have ever encountered. It covers a broad spectrum of cultures, generations, classes, writing styles and points of view. There are "coming of age" stories (OXYGEN) stories of forgiveness and redemption, family struggle, everything life holds. Jim Croce sang of "Time in a Bottle." This book is "Life in a Book."

It is the ONLY collection I know of that includes fiction, non fiction and poetry. The best bang for your buck!