| Editor | Gail Godwin and Shannon Ravenel |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | The Best American Short Stories |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| ISBN | 978-0395390580 |
| Preceded by | The Best American Short Stories 1984 |
| Followed by | The Best American Short Stories 1986 |
The Best American Short Stories 1985, a volume in The Best American Short Stories series, was edited by Shannon Ravenel and by guest editor Gail Godwin. The volume was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. [1] [2]
The series is considered one of the two "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] 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. [5]
Kirkus Reviews stated that "nothing dramatically robs you of breath in this year's selection" but noted the prestige of the names included in this year's line-up. They particularly liked "Sarah Cole: A Type of Love Story" by Russell Banks as the "Best of the realism" and lauded Michael Bishop's "Dog Lives" as the "most artful" of the "academic fiction." [6]
Amy Hempel, writing for Los Angeles Times , found some entries weak, such as E. L. Doctorow, Joyce Carol Oates, and Banks' stories, while lauding Beth Nugent's "City of Boys" and Sharon Sheehe Stark's "The Johnstown Polka." [7]
| Author | Story | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Russell Banks | "Sarah Cole: A Type of Love Story" | The Missouri Review |
| Michael Bishop | "Dogs' Lives" | The Missouri Review |
| Ethan Canin | "Emperor of the Air" | The Atlantic Monthly |
| E. L. Doctorow | "The Leather Man" | The Paris Review |
| Margaret Edwards | "Roses" | Virginia Quarterly Review |
| Starkey Flythe | "Walking, Walking" | Northwest Review |
| H. E. Francis | "The Sudden Trees" | Prairie Schooner |
| Bev Jafek | "You've Come a Long Way, Mickey Mouse" | Columbia |
| John L'Heureux | "Clothing" | Tendril |
| Peter Meinke | "The Piano Tuner" | Atlantic Monthly |
| Wright Morris | "Fellow-Creatures" | The New Yorker |
| Bharati Mukherjee | "Angela" | Mother Jones |
| Beth Nugent | "City of Boys" | North American Review |
| Joyce Carol Oates | "Raven's Wing" | Esquire |
| Norman Rush | "Instruments of Seduction" | The Paris Review |
| Deborah Seabrooke | "Secrets" | Virginia Quarterly Review |
| Marjorie Sandor | "The Gittel" | The Georgia Review |
| Jane Smiley | "Lily" | The Atlantic Monthly |
| Sharon Sheehe Stark | "The Johnstown Polka" | West Branch |
| Joy Williams | "The Skater" | Esquire |
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)