Upon the Sweeping Flood and Other Stories

Last updated

Upon the Sweeping Flood
UponTheSweepingFlood.jpg
First edition
Author Joyce Carol Oates
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Vanguard Press
Publication date
1966
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages224
ISBN 0449224635

Upon the Sweeping Flood and Other Stories is a collection of short stories written by Joyce Carol Oates. It was published in 1966 by Vanguard Press. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Stories

Those stories first appearing in literary journals are indicated. [5] [6]

Reception

Upon the Sweeping Flood "achieves in its best stories the distinctively violent yet compassionate vision that would inform her later fiction" according to literary critic Greg Johnson. [7]

Kirkus Reviews was "disappointed" at the lurid narratives involving "hideous incidentals" which they report mars the collection. Acknowledging that Oates is a notable author, the article observes that the volume suggests "An on-going talent—idling." [8]

Analysis

Joanne V. Creighton points out both the differences and the similarities between the two volumes:

Less often set in Eden County than the stories in By the North Gate, those in Upon the Sweeping Flood embody some of the same themes: the groping of inarticulate people for order and meaning and the discovery of hidden, unlovely depth of passion or of emptiness within one's self. The emphasis here, however, is more focused on the interrelationships among people, be they familial, emotional, or social. Oates exhibits here the beginning of her intense preoccupation with both the tenacious bands of the family and the mysterious emotions of love. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joyce Carol Oates</span> American author (born 1938)

Joyce Carol Oates is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and non-fiction. Her novels Black Water (1992), What I Lived For (1994), and Blonde (2000), and her short story collections The Wheel of Love (1970) and Lovely, Dark, Deep: Stories (2014) were each finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. She has won many awards for her writing, including the National Book Award, for her novel Them (1969), two O. Henry Awards, the National Humanities Medal, and the Jerusalem Prize (2019).

<i>By the North Gate</i> Collection of short stories by Joyce Carol Oates

By the North Gate is a collection of short stories by Joyce Carol Oates. It was the author's first book, first published by Vanguard Press in 1963.

<i>The Wheel of Love and Other Stories</i> Short story collection by Joyce Carol Oates

The Wheel of Love is contains 20 works of short fiction by Joyce Carol Oates published by Vanguard Press in 1970. The volume brought Oates "abundant national acclaim" including this assessment from librarian and critic John Alfred Avant: "Quite simply, one of the finest collections of short stories ever written by an American."

<i>Marriages and Infidelities</i> 1972 collection of 25 works of short fiction by Joyce Carol Oates

Marriages and Infidelities is a collection of 25 works of short fiction by Joyce Carol Oates published by Vanguard Press in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joyce Carol Oates bibliography</span>

List of the published work of Joyce Carol Oates, American writer.

<i>The Goddess and Other Women</i> 1974 collection of short fiction by Joyce Carol Oates

The Goddess and Other Women is a collection comprising 25 works of short fiction by Joyce Carol Oates and published by Vanguard Press in 1974.

<i>Son of the Morning</i> (novel) 1978 novel by Joyce Carol Oates

Son of the Morning is a 1978 novel by American author Joyce Carol Oates. The book was first published on August 1, 1978 through Vanguard Press.

<i>Crossing the Border</i> (short story collection) Collection of short stories

Crossing the Border: Fifteen Tales is a collection of short stories by Joyce Carol Oates written while the author was residing in Canada. Published simultaneously by Vanguard Press in the United States and by Cage Publishing Company, Agincourt, Canada in 1976. The stories had appeared previously in different US and Canadian magazines, often in different versions. Seven of the stories, "Crossing the Border", "Hello Fine Day Isn’t It", "Natural Boundaries", "Customs", "The Scream", "An Incident in The Park", and "River Rising" depict conjugal life of an American couple, Reneé and Evan Maynard, in Canada. The characters in "The Transformation of Vincent Scoville" and "The Liberation of Jake Hanley" are instructors at the same Canadian college. The rest of the stories are not connected to each other.

Night-Side: Eighteen Tales is a collection of 18 works of short fiction by Joyce Carol Oates published by Vanguard Press in 1977.

<i>All the Good People Ive Left Behind</i> 1979 collection of short stories by Joyce Carol Oates

All the Good People I’ve Left Behind is a collection of short stories written by Joyce Carol Oates. It was published in 1979 by Black Sparrow Press.

<i>The Poisoned Kiss and Other Stories from the Portuguese</i> 1975 collection of short stories written by Joyce Carol Oates

The Poisoned Kiss and Other Stories from the Portuguese is a collection of short stories written by Joyce Carol Oates. It was published in 1975 by Vanguard Press.

<i>Museums and Women and Other Stories</i>

Museums and Women and Other Stories is a collection of 25 works of short fiction by John Updike, first appearing individually in literary journals. The stories were collected by Alfred A. Knopf in 1972.

<i>Last Days: Stories</i> 1984 short story collection by Joyce Carol Oates

Last Days: Stories is a collection of short fiction by Joyce Carol Oates published by E. P. Dutton in 1984. The stories in this volume were originally published individually in literary journals

<i>Ravens Wing</i> Collection of short fiction

Raven's Wing is a collection of short fiction 18 works by Joyce Carol Oates published by E. P. Dutton in 1986.

<i>Heat and Other Stories</i> 1991 story collection by Joyce Carol Oates

Heat and Other Stories is a collection of 25 works of short fiction by Joyce Carol Oates published by E. P. Dutton in 1991.

<i>Where Is Here?</i> Short story collection

Where Is Here? is a collection containing 34 works of short fiction by Joyce Carol Oates originally published in paperback by Harper & Row in 1989 and in hardback by Ecco Press in 1992.

<i>The Seduction and Other Stories</i> American collection of short stories

The Seduction and Other Stories is a collection containing 16 works of short fiction by Joyce Carol Oates published by Black Sparrow Press in 1975.

<i>A Sentimental Education</i> (short stories) 1980 collection of stories by Joyce Carol Oates

A Sentimental Education is a collection of 5 short stories and a novella by Joyce Carol Oates published in 1980 by E. P. Dutton.

<i>Haunted: Tales of the Grotesque</i> Short story collection by Joyce Carol Oates

Haunted: Tales of the Grotesque is a collection of 16 works of short fiction by Joyce Carol Oates published in 1994 by E. P. Dutton. The volume includes an afterword by Oates.

<i>The Assignation</i> (short story collection) Short story collection by Joyce Carol Oates

The Assignation is a collection of 44 works of short fiction by Joyce Carol Oates published by Ecco Press in 1988.

References

  1. "Upon the Sweeping Flood and Other Stories". Good Reads. Good Reads Inc.
  2. Barbara Lounsberry (1 January 1998). The Tales We Tell: Perspectives on the Short Story. Greenwood Press. ISBN   978-0-313-30396-8.
  3. "Upon the Sweeping Flood And Other Short Stories". University of San Francisco. University of San Francisco.
  4. Johnson, 1994 p. 218-221: Selected Bibliography, Primary Works
  5. Lercangee, 1986, See Short Stories and Tales, pp. 7-47
  6. "The Glass Ark: A Joyce Carol Oates Bibliography" . Retrieved 2022-10-23.
  7. Johnson, 1994 (1)
  8. Kirkus, 1966
  9. Creighton, Joanne V. (1979). Joyce Carol Oates. Boston: Twayne. p. 32.

Sources