The Norton Anthology of Contemporary Fiction
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Genre | Anthology, English literature |
| Published | 1988; 1998 |
| Publisher | W. W. Norton & Company |
| Publication place | United States |
The Norton Anthology of Contemporary Fiction, published by W. W. Norton & Company, is one of the Norton Anthology series for use in English literary studies. The first edition appeared in 1988 and was accompanied by an "Instructor's Handbook". The second edition appeared in 1998 and was edited by R. V. Cassill and, in addition, by Joyce Carol Oates. It has been widely used as a college textbook.[1] The 545-page anthology contains one work each by 45 writers, 41 of whom were born in the United States.[2] The second edition contains 16 new writers. The selection includes 21 women writers. A biographical sketch of each author is included at the end of the volume.
In his introduction to the second and last edition with this title, Cassill cites the influence of urbanization and network journalism on aspiring writers at the end of the 20th century before asserting that the "range of private experience in this collection ought to encourage students to look into their own school and neighborhood experience when and if they are moved to write"; he notes the intention of the volume to be that students will find "much to emulate, and class discussions of contemporary styles will be relevant in all literature courses."[3] R. V. Cassill was a prolific writer, teacher of creative writing, and professor at Boston University from 1966 to 1983. From 1978 until his death in 2002, Cassill was also the editor of the Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. The writer Joyce Carol Oates has been the editor of a wide range of anthologies since 1973.[4]
Included authors (second edition)
| Author | Title | Date of Copyright | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alice Adams | "Barcelona" | 1984 | Return Trips |
| Julia Alvarez | "The Rudy Elmenhurst Story" | 1991 | How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents |
| Margaret Atwood | "The Man from Mars" | 1977, 1981 | Dancing Girls and Other Stories |
| Donald Barthelme | "The Indian Uprising" | 1981 | Unspeakable Practices. Unnatural Acts |
| Charles Baxter | "Snow" | 1990 | A Relative Stranger |
| Ann Beattie | "The Cinderella Waltz" | 1982 | The Burning House |
| T. Coraghessan Boyle | "Descent of Man" | 1974 | Descent of Man |
| Ron Carlson | "Blazo” | 1992 | Plan B for the Middle Class |
| Raymond Carver | "Cathedral" | 1981 | Cathedral |
| Sandra Cisneros | "One Holy Night" | 1991 | Woman Hollering Creek |
| Robert Coover | "The Babysitter" | 1969 | Pricksongs and Descants |
| Mark Costello | "Murphy's Xmas" | 1973 | The Murphy Stories |
| Andre Dubus | "A Father's Story" | 1983 | The Times Are Never So Bad |
| Stuart Dybek | "Pet Milk " | 1981 | The Coast of Chicago |
| Louise Erdrich | "Saint Marie" | 1984; revised 1993 | Atlantic Monthly (March 1984) |
| Richard Ford | "Rock Springs" | 1987 | Rock Springs |
| Gabriel García Márquez | "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" | 1971 | Leaf Storm and Other Stories |
| George Garrett | "An Evening Performance" | 1985 | An Evening Performance |
| William H. Gass | "In the Heart of the Heart of the Country" | 1968 | In the Heart of the Heart of the Country |
| C. S. Godshalk | "The Wizard" | 1989 | appeared in AGNI 28 |
| Tom Hawkins | “Putting a Child to Bed” | 1989 | Paper Crown |
| Amy Hempel | "In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried" | 1985 | Reasons to Live |
| Pam Houston | "Cowboys Are My Weakness" | 1992 | Cowboys Are My Weakness |
| Charles Johnson | "Kwoon" | 1991 | first appeared in Playboy, December 1991 |
| Thom Jones | "The Black Lights" | 1993 | The Pugilist at Rest |
| Jamaica Kincaid | "Girl" | 1983 | At the Bottom of the River |
| William Kotzwinkle | "Follow the Eagle" | 1971 | Elephant Bangs Train |
| Ursula K. Le Guin | "The New Atlantis" | 1975 | The New Atlantis |
| David Madden | "No Trace" | 1970 | The Shadow Knows |
| Bobbie Ann Mason | "Love Life" | 1990 | Love Life |
| Susan Minot | "Lust" | 1989 | Lust and Other Stories |
| Bharati Mukherjee | "The Tenant" | 1988 | The Middleman and Other Stories |
| Alice Munro | "Wild Swans" | 1977, 1978 | The Beggar Maid |
| Joyce Carol Oates | "Bad Girls" | 1994 | Boulevard |
| Tim O’Brien | "The Things They Carried" | 1990 | The Things They Carried |
| Jonathan Penner | "Emotional Recollected in Tranquillity" | 1983 | Private Parties |
| Jayne Anne Phillips | "Souvenir" | 1979 | Black Tickets |
| Mary Robison | "Coach" | 1983 | An Amateur's Guide to the Night |
| Amy Tan | "Rules of the Game" | 1989 | The Joy Luck Club |
| Hunter S. Thompson | "A Death in the Family" | 1988 | Generation of Swine |
| John Updike | "The Other" | 1987 | Trust Me |
| Guy Vanderhaeghe | "Going to Russia" | 1982 | Man Descending |
| Alice Walker | "Everyday Use" | 1973 | In Love and Trouble: Stories of Black Women |
| Joy Williams | "Taking Care" | 1982 | Taking Care |
| Tobias Wolff | "In the Garden of the North American Martyrs" | 1981 | In the Garden of the North American Martyrs |
External links
The Norton Anthology of Contemporary Fiction in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
References
- ^ "R. V. Cassill". rvcassill.com. Retrieved 2025-07-07.
- ^ "Biographical Sketches." The Norton Anthology of Contemporary Fiction, 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1998. 547–553.
- ^ Cassill, R. V. "Introduction." The Norton Anthology of Contemporary Fiction, 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1998. xi.
- ^ "The Anthologies of Joyce Carol Oates". Celestial Timepiece. A Joyce Carol Oates Patchwork. Retrieved 2025-07-08.