The Graywolf Short Stories, first published in 1985, was a celebration-in-print of the renaissance of the short story. For years, fewer and fewer short stories were being published in general magazines and fewer collections of stories were being issued by book publishers. Increasingly, though, a growing number of writers turned their considerable talents to revitalizing the short story form. Enthusiastic readers found short stories to be perfectly suited to our neat little bundles of life-as-it-is-truly-lived to be read in one sitting by the commuter, the traveller, or the busy person in search of intellectual nourishment and pleasure. Our premier issue of the Graywolf Annual salutes this literary renaissance by presenting a dozen stories by such gifted authors as Elizabeth Tallent, Richard Ford, Ellen Gilchrist, Tobias Wolff, and Margaret Atwood.

This anthology of recent work by outstanding writers aims to represent an author's new or evolving direction, including those who are perfecting a found style and evolving new voices in their work. The navigator / Susan Minot—The beet queen / Louise Erdrich—Walker brothers cowboy / Alice Munro—Health / Joy Williams—The oasis / Alice Adams—Señorita Cordoba / Jane Bowles—Old flames / Laurie Colwin—Cards / Ann Beattie—Black holes / Elizabeth Tallent—Sunday's no name band / Sara Vogan—Blue country / Bobbie Ann Mason—Bad company / Tess Gallagher—Irina / Mavis Gallant

The Graywolf Annual Three: Essays, Memoirs & Reflections The third Graywolf Annual celebrates the personal essay in its many forms: intimate family memoir, personal political reportage, literary memoir, and writing on science, nature, religion, and art. Many contemporary writers have turned to the personal essay or memoir as a fitting way to tell a more directly personal sort of truth than is possible for them in their fiction or poetry. The Graywolf Annual Three celebrates this renaissance of interest in the personal essay by presenting new work by fourteen outstanding contemporary writers. John Berger Annie Dillard Terrence Des Pres Phillip Moffitt Brenda Peterson Barry Lopez Richard Ford Gretel Ehrlich Suzannah Lessard James Fenton David Quammen John Haines Patricia Hampl William Kittredge

Thirteen stories by American writers deal with the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of men's lives

The issue of cultural literacy has been the subject of intense debate in the past two years. Several bestselling books about the deficiencies of our educational system as well as changes in basic curriculum at more than one major university have contributed to the fervor of this debate. Fueling the national controversy is the question of what body of knowledge constitutes cultural literacy. While many argue for a return to a "back to basics" curriculum, equally energetic voices call for a revised curriculum, one which embraces both traditional western classics and the classics of non-European cultures, among them African, Asian, and Latin American. This volume brings together thirteen essays which suggest the range of knowledge truly literate individuals need to possess. Essays by such writers as James Baldwin, Carlos Fuentes, Michelle Cliff, Paula Gunn Allen, Ishmael Reed, and Wendell Berry enlarge our perspective to include a variety of voices and heritages which contribute to the vibrant culture of the United States. Also included is a beginning list of names, places, dates, and concepts which are part and parcel of a multi-cultural fabric.

Scott Walker, ed., Graywolf Annual Stories from the Rest of the World (No.6), paperback

The short stories included in this Annual are all by ethnic people who live in the United Sta tes, some who are new citizens, some not so new—all who make up unique parts of the culture of the United States, whose stories expand on the themes of cultural awareness of the previous two Annuals.

Despite overwhelming evidence that it no longer exists, we continue to believe in the myth of the Ozzie and Harriet family: working father, at-home mother, two bright kids. We see this pervasive image on TV, in movies, in advertising. Statistics and good sense, however, tell us that "family is now defined in many ways. More than half of American households will be, at one time or another, single-parent families. Learning how to accommodate half brothers and sisters, second and third stepmothers, and noncustodial parents and former step-parents is a task faced by many of today's children and adults. Gay and/or lesbian parents are common. Grandparents assume parental roles, often for teenaged parents. Many people abandon their natural families to form families among friends. There are no guides to the subtleties of the New Family, and so "The Graywolf Annual Eight: The New Family gathers remarkable short stories—by established and new authors—each of which in some manner reflects, elucidates, or amplifies some of this new reality. Together, they celebrate our much broader understanding of what a family can be.

The subject of "multi-culturalism" versus "Eurocentrism" has been much debated in the United States, most often as if "Europe" was a single cultural entity. This notion is encouraged by the development of the European Economic Community, a vision of a politically and economically united Europe. The short stories included in The Graywolf Annual 9: Stories from the New Europe illustrate another the remarkable variety of European cultures, from the individual voices of the former Soviet Baltic states to the nuances of Croat/Serb and Czech/Slovak voices, and the surprising strength of Euzkadi (Basque), Icelandic, Irish, immigrant, and Catalan cultures. Despite political pressures to unify under artificial boundaries, economic pressures of the EEC, and a mass market and communications system that threatens to overwhelm localized customs and concerns; ancient, deep-rooted cultures and languages have managed to survive. In a precise counterbalance to the strength of mass culture, regional identities are in fact blossoming throughout Europe. These stories are told by writers whose use of their native language has resulted in their imprisonment, by Nobel Prize winners, by writers whose large audience is entirely "underground." Among authors included in this Graywolf Annual are Ivan Klíma, Mercè Rodoreda, Danilo Kis, Halldór Laxness, and Dubravka Ugresic.

For nearly all of human history, our notion of community was centered on the family, tribe, and/or village. The centrality of that notion is at the core of our values. The 20th century brought air travel, a revolution in communications, the internationalization of culture and business, the growth of an "international language"—all in all, a complete overturning of our historic understanding of community. As a result, we now have to think about the many different levels and many new faces of community. Our families are nuclear, extended, and broken; few of us live in one place our entire lives, and most of our cities, towns, and regions change beyond recognition every few years. The concept of the nation-state itself is breaking down, and people are more closely identifying with biogegional, religious, or ethnic communities. Incorporating essays from a diverse range of sources such as Parabola, A Magazine of American Culture, the New Yorker, and The Well, a national computerized bulletin board, Changing Community examines the ways that our ideas of community are evolving.