The best anthology i've seen is (sorry) Richard Ford's Granta Book of the
American short story. Flannery O'Connor, woefully underrated in this
country, is in there, as are many others. In terms of British based
writers, it's difficult to name something equivalent that would include the
likes of Lawrence, Mansfield, Bowen, Pritchett but go right through to the
likes of Kelman, McEwan and beyond to today, which the US anthology does.
But really, to teach the short story you couldn't go wrong with any book by
Alice Munro
Cheers
Ken
>From: "G.E.Harper" <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Creative Writing in Universities and Colleges
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Short stories
>Date: Thu, 1 May 2003 15:18:44 +0100
>
>Hi Matthew,
>
>Yes . . .or doing work ala Donald Barthelme or Alice Munro or . . .
>
>I was at a reading recently by a new-ish US short story writer reading at
>the excellent (no plug intended!) Prairie Lights bookshop in Iowa City
>(which, in a sense, benefits from being near the Iowa Writers workshop) and
>the thought struck me then: O my God what is the UK that stops a new short
>tstory writer like this emerging from the wings in England or Wales or
>Scotland etc etc.
>
>You're right: a sense of what to do in a literary culture that's not
>supporting the short story. That's about it.
>
>*The anthology is a definite, madness willing . . .onward! 'State of Play'
>(has a nice ring to it perhaps, being as many in the Uk seem to see the
>short story as play rather than serious 'commercial' publishing business!)
>
>Graeme
>
>--
>G.E.Harper [log in to unmask]
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