Anthologies

The stories in A World of Fiction , Second Edition, by Sybil Marcus, embrace a variety of themes, literary and linguistic styles, and time frames. Advanced students will sharpen their reading, speaking, vocabulary, and writing skills as they discover the pleasure and reward of reading fiction. This anthology provides complete and unabridged selections by: Woody Allen · Kate Chopin · Nadine Gordimer · James Joyce · D.H. Lawrence · Bernard Malamud · Katherine Mansfield · William Maxwell · Frank O’Connor · Grace Paley · Anne Petry · Budd Schulberg · James Thurber · Anne Tyler · Arturo Vivante · Kurt Vonnegut · Alice Walker · Tobias Wolf · Monica Wood · Virginia Woolf Features Five new stories Updated author biographies “Focus on Language” sections that highlight grammatical structures and vocabulary Exploration of literary elements such as time, setting, action, and motive A wide variety of stimulating discussion and writing topics

Offers discussion guidelines, quizzes, and answers.

This anthology of thirty works by some of our best contemporary American writers looks at our perennial American obsession: fat. It's everywhere, all around you, and maybe even on you. Now, America's consuming passion at last has its own anthology. From Andre Dubus's delicious story of a young woman more comfortable in her fat body than her thin one ("The Fat Girl"), to Tobias Wolff's tale of bonding over pancakes ("Hunters in the Snow"), Dorothy Allison's poem about food and love ("Dumpling Child"), Peter Carey's surreal tale of a fat-man revolution ("The Fat Man in History"), Wesley McNair's poetic celebration "Fat Heaven", and George Saunders's "The 400-pound CEO," this bountiful feast of fiction and poetry will ensure no reader ever looks at fat quite the same way again. Including stories and poems by Dorothy Allison Frederick Busch Peter Carey Raymond Carver Junot Díaz Andre Dubus Pam Houston Jill McCorkle George Saunders Tobias Wolff

17 writers. 17 stories. One great state. Original, unusual, classic, tender, amazing...these are the stories of Maine writers. The Way Life Should Be is a compilation of contemporary stories by some of Maine’s best established and up and coming writers. Their stories range in length from 3 pages to 30 pages and capture everything from daily life in Maine to tales of flying babies. Maine, with Portland at its epicenter, has one of the most original and thriving writing scenes in the country. The Way Life Should Be is the must-have book that epitomizes this vibrant creative community.

Nonfiction storytelling is at its best in this anthology of excerpts from memoirs by thirty authors—some eminent, some less well known—who grew up tough and talented in working-class America. Their stories, selected from literary memoirs published between 1982 and 2014, cover episodes from childhood to young adulthood within a spectrum of life-changing experiences. Although diverse ethnically, racially, geographically, and in sexual orientation, these writers share a youthful precocity and determination to find opportunity where little appeared to exist. All of these perspectives are explored within the larger context of economic insecurity—a needed perspective in this time of growing inequality. These memoirists grew up in families that led “hardscrabble” lives in which struggle and strenuous effort were the norm. Their stories offer insight on the realities of class in America, as well as inspiration and hope.