Best of Prairie Schooner: Fiction and Poetry

From Publishers Weekly
Best of Prairie Schooner: Fiction and Poetry appears in observance of that periodical's 75th year of publication no mean feat for a literary journal and one worth celebrating. Assembled by Hilda Raz, the magazine's current editor, almost all of the selections are culled from the last 20 years (as long as the journal has held reprint rights), thus excluding the likes of Capote and Welty. Prose and verse are split 50/50; contributors include heavyweights Joyce Carol Oates, A.R. Ammons, Rita Dove and Reynolds Price alongside such newer talents as Stephanie Strickland, Karen Volkman and Raphael Campo. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Following a recent collection of essays (LJ 12/00), this selection from Prairie Schooner, one of the oldest and most respected literary magazines in the United States, celebrates fiction and poetry. Included are some of the best pieces that have appeared in the journal since 1980, as chosen by poet Raz (English, Univ. of Nebraska; Divine Honors, LJ 10/1/97). Contemporary themes are considered, such as the war in the Balkans, the AIDS and breast cancer epidemics, and gender concerns, as are more universal themes of death and renewal, nationalism, class, race, and war. Writers range from the well-known Joyce Carol Oates to the somewhat less familiar Ivan Kl!ma, a Czech writer first published in America after the fall of communism. One of the most poignant stories, Lynne Sharon Schwartz's account of a young wife and mother, tells of her attempt to keep alive a series of ill-fated guinea pigs for her daughter and idealistic husband. In contrast, poet Ronald Wallace decries the carnage of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Bergen-Belsen, Dachau, and Vietnam in "The Hell Mural." This anthology will delight readers seeking thought-provoking, entertaining fiction and poetry that avoids the trendy and faddish. Highly recommended for academic and public libraries. Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
This anthology celebrates the remarkable 75-year run (so far) of the Prairie Schooner, the literary journal published by the University of Nebraska Press that began modestly in 1927, avoided the axe from budget cuts a decade later, and has held an important place on the American literary landscape ever since. An informative introduction retells various details in the journal's life, including the sequence of editors (Raz is only the fifth) and name and format changes, and conveys the precariousness yet resilience of small literary journals as they seek to publish and share quality writing. The works selected for this volume were mostly published after 1980, with a few notable exceptions, including two early stories by Joyce Carol Oates, which appeared in 1964 and 1965. There are many other well-known writers represented: Charles Baxter, with an early poem; Charles Bukowski, with a late poem; Lan Samantha Chang, with the story "The Eve of the Spirit Festival," which was later selected for Best American Short Stories 1996; and works by Maxine Kumin, Rita Dove, Gary Soto, Louise Erdrich, Sharon Olds, and Sherman Alexie. James O'Laughlin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


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Following a recent collection of essays (LJ 12/00), this selection from Prairie Schooner, one of the oldest and most respected literary magazines in the United States, celebrates fiction and poetry. Included are some of the best pieces that have appeared in the journal since 1980, as chosen by poet Raz (English, Univ. of Nebraska; Divine Honors, LJ 10/1/97). Contemporary themes are considered, such as the war in the Balkans, the AIDS and breast cancer epidemics, and gender concerns, as are more universal themes of death and renewal, nationalism, class, race, and war. Writers range from the well-known Joyce Carol Oates to the somewhat less familiar Ivan Kl ma, a Czech writer first published in America after the fall of communism. One of the most poignant stories, Lynne Sharon Schwartz's account of a young wife and mother, tells of her attempt to keep alive a series of ill-fated guinea pigs for her daughter and idealistic husband. In contrast, poet Ronald Wallace decries the carnage of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Bergen-Belsen, Dachau, and Vietnam in "The Hell Mural." This anthology will delight readers seeking thought-provoking, entertaining fiction and poetry that avoids the trendy and faddish. Highly recommended for academic and public libraries. Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.


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