In intent, design, and format resembling the popular Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia (HarperCollins, 1996), but with a narrower focus, this work seeks to enhance reader interpretation and critical viewpoint. The more than 675 well-written entries explore aspects of the American short story from the early 19th century to the 1990s. The alphabetically arranged entries include author biographies and bibliographies as well as plot synopses, character sketches, and major short story analyses; also covered are literary terminology, themes, and motifs; historical events and trends that influenced the writers and the genre; prominent periodicals and critics; and winners of prestigious short story prizes. By no means all-inclusive, this volume instead attempts to create a balance between classic and contemporary writers, offering overviews of such short-fiction categories as Asian American, African American, and Native American literatures; subgenres like regionalism; and critical theory, with explanations of frequently used terms like postmodernism. Highly recommended for literary collections in public and academic libraries.
-Marilyn Rosenthal, Nassau Community Coll. Lib., Garden City, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
This volume focuses on short stories and authors from the early nineteenth century through the 1990s who were American born or lived in the U.S. Contemporary writers are included if they have published more than two collections, have written stories that are often anthologized, have won literary prizes, or "have gained a following among younger readers and scholars." Also here are literary terms, literary theories, influential magazines, important story collections, notable characters and locales (e.g., William Faulkner's Abner Snopes, John Cheever's Shady Hill), major short story awards, and subgenres such as detective and science fiction. In addition to frequently anthologized stories, from Francis Hopkinson's A Pretty Story (1774) to T. Coraghessan Boyle's Greasy Lake (1987), there are entries for novellas, such as Henry James' The Turn of the Screw and Carson McCullers' Ballad of the Sad Cafe . The diversity of American literature is represented in entries such as Gay male short fiction and Native-American storytelling . Entries are arranged alphabetically. Each lists the entry name in boldface, followed by birth and death dates or publication year, where appropriate; a description, ranging from one paragraph to several paragraphs; and a concise bibliography of additional reading. Many of the entries are signed. The volume concludes with several appendixes: winners of short story prizes such as the O. Henry Memorial Award; a list of suggested stories arranged by theme and topic (from adolescence to writers and artists ); and a selected bibliography.The book reminds modern readers and researchers not only of the origins of the short story in the works of Hawthorne, Irving, and Poe--and the contributions of European or cosmopolitan writers from Henry James to Vladimir Nabokov--but also the more recent emergence of writers of diverse backgrounds: Sandra Cisneros, Louise Erdrich, Jamaica Kincaid, and David Wong Louie, to name a few. In addition, one can learn how certain major novels, such as Pearl Buck's The Good Earth , began as short stories and about the role of the magazine and the development of paperback editions in the evolution of the short story.This resource would be very helpful in the reference collections of academic, public, and high-school libraries. RBB
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