The first (contemporary) short story I ever read was “Appetites” by Kathryn Chetkovich. It was the first story in the 1998 volume of The Best American Short Stories, edited by Garrison Keillor. That story knocked me out. I think I read the whole volume in one sitting. I was 38 years old and falling in love, for the first time, with literary short fiction.
Up until then I believe I thought that short stories had been discontinued after 1890. Like most people I knew, I read novels exclusively. I read whatever was on the bestseller list. I read The Thorn Birds on the train in to work. I read the latest Stephen King. In 1998 I was living with my family in Australia. I’d recently given birth to my fourth child. My days and nights were given over to childrearing. Slack-jawed from sleep deprivation and lack of adult contact besides the checker at the grocery store, I needed an outlet. So I signed up for a creative writing class (something dopey like: Explore Your Creativity Through Writing!) held every Saturday morning above a health food store in Bondi.
That class turned out to be the most fun I’d had for a long time. It completely woke me up. I was the suburban housewife amidst the sweetest group of young hippies and surfer dudes there ever was. We were given prompts and wrote exercises, but the instructor wanted us to keep in mind that by the last class we were to have completed a Short Story. All I could remember of short stories were the obligatory stories we read in English 101. Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain and so forth. Homework. Was I supposed to write something like that?
After one of the classes I went into a nearby bookstore and discovered The Best American Short Stories 1998. Perfect. Short stories. American ones. The best.
I still have it. I’ve reread it countless times. Its front cover has fallen off and there’s writing in the margins and sentences I’d run over with pink highlighter and exclamation marks all over the place. On some of the pages there are scribbles courtesy of an impatient toddler made to sit on my lap while I read. On the first page of Poe Ballantine’s story I’d written “HOLY SHIT” (the extent of my critical reading skills at the time) and that was pretty much how I felt about all the stories. Looking at the book now, I feel the same rush of joy I felt when I read it in 1998.
I saw what a short story could be and what it could do. I wanted to write stories this good. I wanted to learn everything and to read every short story I could get my hands on. This book was my primer. Each story held a lesson or a revelation.
I’ll just mention a few here:
“Appetites” by Kathryn Chetkovich: It’s okay to be funny. The tender parts are all the more moving if there are funny parts, too.
“The Blue Devils of Blue River Avenue” by Poe Ballantine: The glory of specific details. The holy truth that is childhood. And my own childhood was worth writing about.
“Glory Goes and Gets Some” by Emily Carter: Voice, voice, voice! The truth is that there is humor in tragedy.
“Body Language” by Diane Schoemperlen: There’s more than one way to tell a story. You can be innovative and original.
“Flower Children” by Maxine Swann: This is one of my all-time favorite short stories. It’s so full of amazing details. How language can sing. It shows the way a story can subtly arc and shift right out from under you. And whoosh, there’s that beautiful and breathless final paragraph.
The authors’ notes at the end of the book were also a revelation for me. Most of the stories had gone through several drafts, some took years to write. This didn’t deter me. It thrilled me. I felt a kinship to these writers who were all new to me then. Short story writing was something worth dedicating one’s life to. The world was complicated, baffling, and lonely. But here was short fiction, offering me a way in. And when you’re 38 years old and you’re just discovering this for the first time, it feels like nothing short of a miracle.
*For throw back Thursday…This essay was originally published for Short Story Month in 2012 on David Abram’s blog, The Quivering Pen.
I had a similar experience with a story by Julie Orringer in Best American… there were rats in the walls is all I remember right now. However, you’ve made me want to dig out my old Best American books and reread. Not sure I have that volume. I’ll have to look. Also it’s through BA that I discovered Scott Wolven who writes fabulous short stories and flies under the radar because he has no online presence, but oh how I love his work. Reminds me of Jack London, one of my old school favorites.
Back then my favorite shorts included To Build A Fire and A Rose for Emily. I didn’t understand Katherine Mansfield or some of the other more contemporary writers so I didn’t think I could write for a modern audience. LOL. Mansfield as contemporary. Now I’m showing my age!
Well, I adore Katherine Mansfield, so we are both showing our age, Gay! Also love Julie Orringer. And I particularly love great writers who have no online presence so I will look up Scott Wolven. I feel like I owe so much to BASS and that one volume especially. I always knew I wanted to write but it wasn’t until I read BASS ’98 that I felt like I had permission to write the way I wanted to. Anyway, it gave me something to strive for. Thanks for stopping by, Gay. I always love hearing from you.
Your enthusiasm ignites me, Kathy. I have come late (really fucking late) to the short fiction world after years of writing for television. The fact that I have any brains cells left from that experience just makes me all the more determined to make the most of them going forward. Short and flash fiction is my passion and, like you, all I want to do is grow, learn, and be the best I can be. Thanks, as always, for inspiring me to do just that. I’m off to buy the book. 🙂 Oh, and there is another tiny tale up on my blog.
Great, Jayne, I’m so happy to hear you’re inspired! The BASS anthologies are interesting because of the different guest editors you get a very different feel from year to year. I have read it every year since 1998 and this remains my favorite because the stories possess good doses of humor and/or daring, two things I value in short fiction. Here’s to going forth, learning more, and creating more, for both of us, Jayne! Thanks for stopping by.
I received my copy last week and am loving every story. Thanks again for the recommendation.
Oh great! I’m always nervous about recommending books. Glad you’re loving it, Jayne!