The Best American Short Stories 1980

The Best American Short Stories 1980

Editor	Shannon Ravenel and Stanley Elkin
Language	English
Series	The Best American Short Stories
Publisher	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Media type	Print (hardback & paperback)
ISBN	978-0395294468
Preceded by	The Best American Short Stories 1979
Followed by	The Best American Short Stories 1981

The Best American Short Stories 1980, a volume in The Best American Short Stories series, was edited by Shannon Ravenel and by guest editor Stanley Elkin. The volume was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ^{[1] [2]}

Background

The series is considered one of the "best-known annual anthologies of short fiction" ^[3] and has anthologized more than 2,000 short stories, including works by some of the most famous writers in contemporary American literature, curated by well-known guest editors since 1915. ^[4] Specifically, Amy Hempel considered it and the O. Henry Award's prize anthology to compile "the best short fiction published in American and Canadian magazines during the preceding year." ^[5]

In particular, the Willa Cather Review wrote that The Best American Short Stories series "became a repository of values" for creative writing programs and literary magazines, specifically with considerable "influence" in college libraries, short fiction courses, and fiction workshops. ^[6]

Critical reception

Kirkus Reviews observed that the "fairly uneven" curation matched Stanley Elkin's own interests sought in his writing, namely stories that are "longish, comically operatic, frequently about Jews or the momentarily possessed," though found two standout inclusions: "The Old Forest" by Peter Taylor and "The One-Star Jew" by David Evanier. ^[7]

Short stories included

Author	Story	Source
Donald Barthelme	"The Emerald"	Esquire
Frederick Busch	"Long Calls"	North American Review
David Evanier	"The One-Star Jew"	The Paris Review
Mavis Gallant	"The Remission"	The New Yorker
Mavis Gallant	"Speck's Idea"	The New Yorker
William H. Gass	"The Old Folks"	The Kenyon Review
T. Gertler	"In Case of Survival"	Esquire Fortnightly
Elizabeth Hardwick	"The Faithful"	The New Yorker
Larry Heinemann	"The a First Clean Fact"	TriQuarterly
Robert Henderson	"Into the Wind"	The New Yorker
Curt Johnson	"Lemon Tree"	Confrontation
Grace Paley	"Friends"	The New Yorker
James Robison	"Home "	The New Yorker
Leon Rooke	"Mama Tuddi Done Over"	Descant
John Sayles	"At The Anarchists' Convention"	The Atlantic Monthly
Isaac Bashevis Singer	"The Safe Deposit"	The New Yorker
Richard Stern	"Dr. Cahn's Visit"	The Atlantic Monthly
Barry Targan	"The Rags of Time "	Southwest Review
Peter Taylor	"The Old Forest"	The New Yorker
John Updike	"Gesturing"	Playboy
Norman Waksler	"Markowitz and the Gypsies"	Ascent
Gordon Weaver	"Hog's Heart"	The Antioch Review

References

1. Ravenel, Shannon and Elkin, Stanley (1980). The Best American Short Stories 1980. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (published October 1, 1980). ISBN   978-0395294468.
2. Grimes, William (1995-06-02). "Stanley Elkin, 65, Writer of Stylish Fiction". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-04-08.
3. "Short and Sweet" by Mark Harris, Entertainment Weekly, 11/05/99, issue 511, page 73.
4. "The Best American Short Stories of the Century," Publishers Weekly , 3/8/1999, volume 246, issue 10, page 47.
5. Hempel, Amy (1986-02-09). "The Best American Short Stories 1985 : edited by Gail Godwin with Shannon Ravenel (Houghton Mifflin; $14.95, hardcover; $8.95, paperback; 300 pp.)". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
6. "'Long-Cellared Wine': 'Double Birthday,' Edward J. H. O'Brien, and the Best American Short Stories Series" by Timothy W. Bintrim and Scott Riner, Willa Cather Review, spring 2023, volume 64, issue 1, page 18.
7. THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 1980 | Kirkus Reviews.