My library has the entire run (well, at least I think so--not sure when the first one was published) of The Best American Short Stories. Every book from 1915 through 2010 and the 2011 should be arriving any day now. I've always thought it was really cool that we have the complete set. What a great resource for the best short stories published in any given year. I've often thought how much I would love to start with 1915 and make my way through each book until I get to the most recent. Imagine what a great survey of this form of writing it would be to read them all (or maybe even just a sampling from each book). I could see how writing styles have changed, what trends have come and gone, how world events may or may not have shaped the subject of stories and get a taste of some work from a large variety of authors.
I randomly picked a volume from the shelf, so 1944 it is. The anthology is edited by Martha Foley, and reading the foreword it is interesting to see that she seems almost apologetic for the contents. I guess literature like so much else is cyclical. She laments the fact that so many authors have sold out--the popular over the literary--"slick stories, the stories with wonderful technical skill and no soul." (Hmm, haven't heard that argument lately).
"What is significant is that the best short stories of the year have been written largely by a new group of writers. More new short story writers have appeared during the last year than for many previous years. And significant also is a descent into commercialized fiction on the part of many brilliant short story writers to whom great acclaim has been given in recent years."
"The inevitable question, of course, is why this should be. Is the vigorous creative life of a writer limited to a few years? Must writing be divided, as has been the tendency by critics, into decades--the 'lost generation' writing of the twenties, the 'depression' writing of the thirties and now, whatever it finally may be labeled, the writing of the forties?"
"To this editor, at least, the answer seems to lie deeper in American publishing mores than in literary chronology. In other countries, the writer progresses into a long maintained maturity. But in no other country is the pressure on the young writer, particularly the short story writer, to compromise for the sake of material gain so great as it is in America. It is a tragic situation because in no other country have so many young writers of promise appeared in the last twenty-five years as in the United States."
Although she mentions Hollywood, she does not blame it for corrupting young writers, though she is quick to note the sort of writing for movies is not in the same league as literary writing.
Now I am quite curious to read the stories, of which there are about thirty-six. Many names are unknown to me, but here are a few I think will be easily recognizable: Saul Bellow (Notes of a Dangling Man), Dorothy Canfield (The Knot Hole), Shirley Jackson (Come Dance With Me in Ireland), Carson McCullers (The Ballad of the Sad Café), Vladimir Nabokov ('That in Aleppo Once...'), Irwin Shaw (The Veterans Reflect), Lionel Trilling (Of This Time, of That Place), and Jessamyn West (The Illumination).
The book includes biographical information on each author, and lists of distinctive volumes of short stories published in the US, as well as distinctive short stories published in American magazines in 1943.
Without even meaning to, I'm finding myself wanting to take this volume back and pulling the 1915 edition off the shelf and in order to start from the beginning! Almost a hundred volumes of short stories--now that would be quite a reading project!
That sounds interesting! It would be fascinating to read through all the books and see what you can glean about how the genre changes. I'd love to read through the Best American Essays in the same way, although I think that series only goes back to the 1980s.
Posted by: Rebecca H. | October 28, 2011 at 05:53 PM
My husband has each best short story anthology from 1999 on...I didn't even know they went back this far! Can't wait to check and see if my library has a copy.
Posted by: Cath @ Constance Reader | October 28, 2011 at 08:58 PM
What a great idea; I love short stories! It would even be fun to skip around the years. I'm quite curious about the earlier volumes, and didn't know that these had been published for so many years.
Posted by: Jan S. | October 28, 2011 at 10:43 PM
I think Martha Foley was the sole editor for a god many years before they started bring a celebrity writer on board.
I'd love to have every volume of that series on my Kindle -- what a great resource! If I had it, I'm pretty sure I'd start with 1915 ... and maybe find a really good history of 20th century America to have as a resource while worked my way through the stories.
Time ... time is the precious commodity that I just don't have enough of!
Posted by: AJ | October 28, 2011 at 11:12 PM
A hundred volumes of short stories! What a thought - and what a project! But fascinating as a piece of literary history, to see the names of authors come and go. And a great way to try out a lot of writers to see if you like what they do.
Posted by: litlove | October 29, 2011 at 04:10 AM
This reminds me of Dorothy Parker's hilarious review of a 1927 collection (edited by Edward O'Brien, so I'm not sure if it's part of the same series), called "The Short Story, Through a Couple of the Ages." Let's just say she wasn't impressed with that year's crop.
Posted by: Lisa | October 29, 2011 at 09:19 AM
Oh I can understand so well why reading from the first volume onwards would appeal to you..
although it would be quite an achievement too, to to read the first story of each volume..
Looking forward to read what you are going to do!
Posted by: catharina | October 29, 2011 at 11:30 AM
Rebecca--I would love to try and read through the books--at least a sampling, though I expect it would take me ages and then I would probably become really distracted, but it's still good to keep in mind the books are there for when I am in the mood for short stories. The essay books sound much more do-able since there aren't quite so many!
Cath--That's a nice collection--I wish I would have started buying them, too, but at least I have access to the set. The series has been around for a long time--I guess short stories must have been much more popular a long time ago as there seems to have been far more magazines publishing them in the first part of the century. I hope you can get your hands on the earlier books, too.
Jan--I love them, too, and wish I read more of them. I have at least two short story collections checked out from the library not including this one, but I still tend to pick up novels over other books. If nothing else I would really like to check out different volumes every now and again--the set really does need some attention. I'm not sure how often the books are checked out--probably the more recent ones more so then the earlier books.
AJ--I didn't realize that--I've picked up so few of them. I wonder if she was a critic? I will have to look her up. I think the newest books are on Kindle, though I am not sure how far back they go. They would be perfect for ereaders since there is so much material in them--they take up several rows of shelves at my library. I am also curious how the stories reflect the times since the editor seems to remark on that in her intro. Yes, time is always the problem when it comes to reading--too little of it, and too many books! :)
Litlove--Doesn't that sound like a great thesis project--or maybe it would be far too unwieldy. I just like the idea. If I try it I would probably make it through two or three books before finding a new project to mess around with. It would be a great way to try new authors, though--especially for the more contemporary volumes.
Lisa--I will have to look that up next week--now you have piqued my curiosity. I like Dorothy Parker--leave it to her to write a story like that! I wonder if every editor is unimpressed or if that is something that has changed over time as I suspect the newer editors try to "sell" their choices.
Catharina--I love doing things like this--or thinking about doing them anyway. I will admit that I bought home that 1915 volume this weekend but haven't yet had a chance to crack it open. Maybe tomorrow. A story a day...I wonder how long that would take me??
Posted by: Danielle | October 29, 2011 at 09:20 PM
Those anthologies are often treasure trunks, aren't they? I must admit though that I prefer thematical anthologies. My late mother left me three series.
12 volumes of crime short stories, each with the stories of one author. 12 books of ghost stories per country and love stories/country. I need to hunt for them one of these days. The German love and ghost stories would come in handy now.
I love the Ballad of the Sad Café. It's quite long. This must be a huge volume.
Posted by: Caroline | October 30, 2011 at 01:38 AM
What a fabulous idea! Even if you only read a story or two from each year, it would be such an endeavor. You have me curious as to what our library system has. A project for some days ahead.
Posted by: Penny | October 30, 2011 at 12:52 PM
Caroline--I like the idea of them being treasure trunks--that is very true! The collections you mention sound great--I like both sorts--anthologies that contain very different stories and the sorts that are on one theme. I have a number of collections of ghost stories, too (probably more of those than any other kind). I wonder how many German ghost stories have been translated into English--those are almost my favorite sort of short story. The collection that has the McCullers is not really all that chunky, but that is one of the longer stories in it! I really should at least read a few of the stories (including that one) in it.
Penny--I was thinking the same thing. I would love to read the books in their entirety, but that may be a very unwieldy project unless I concentrate on nothing else. I hope you can find the books as well!
Posted by: Danielle | October 30, 2011 at 05:03 PM
Wow, that wold be quite the reading project starting with 1915! But fun too to see how short stories have changed over time. Funny how "literary" v. "commercial" fiction was debated even in 1944!
Posted by: Stefanie | October 31, 2011 at 11:15 AM
Stefanie--I do dream big when it comes to books, don't I? Isn't it interesting? I guess some things really don't change, and commercial seems to always bring to mind not as good or worthy somehow. I am very curious to see how stories developed and changed over time--I hope to at least get a sampling of stories.
Posted by: Danielle | October 31, 2011 at 10:25 PM
Hello! How wonderful it is that your library has the entire BASS series. They are truly wonderful. I encourage you to read the entire series...or at least some of the older volumes. Back in 2008, I started from the 1978 edition (first edition that Shannon Ravenel was editor of...after the death of Martha) and am up to 1987. Work and life(a new baby) have played havoc with my progress and I think that I have embarked on a lifetime crusade! I have also started adding volumes prior to 1978 to my collection so if I ever reach the most current volume, I can always work in reverse. My little project is called "Years of BASS" and it'll pop up in a google search. Go for it! - jakon
Posted by: Jakon Hays | November 07, 2011 at 12:52 AM
Jakon Hays--Thanks so much for your comment and the heads up on your project. Very cool, I obviously think! It is hard to keep up on these sorts of reads as there is always so much else going on and so many other books clamoring for attention! I have checked out the first volume and it sits on my nightstand. We'll see if I can manage it--but a long holiday weekend is coming up so I plan on dipping into it soon. This is definitely a project that is Long Term!
Posted by: Danielle | November 07, 2011 at 07:59 PM