Synopses & Reviews
Now in its twentieth year, this consistently refined and lively series (Booklist) still highlights the best that the form can be (Philadelphia Inquirer). Edited by the best-selling writer Susan Orlean, this years collection highlights lively and provocative writing for these difficult times. Contributors include Roger Angell, Andrea Barrett, David Sedaris, Holly Welker, and others.
Synopsis
Now in its 20th year, this "consistently refined and lively series" (Booklist) still highlights "the best that the form can be" (Philadelphia Inquirer). This year's collection highlights lively and provocative writing from Roger Angell, Andrea Barrett, David Sedaris, Holly Welker, and others.
Synopsis
The Best American series has been the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction since 1915. Each volume's series editor selects notable works from hundreds of periodicals. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the very best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected--and most popular--of its kind.
The Best American Essays 2005 includes
Roger Angell Andrea Barrett Jonathan Franzen Ian Frazier Edward Hoagland Ted Kooser Jonathan Lethem Danielle Ofri Oliver Sacks Cathleen Schine David Sedaris Robert Stone David Foster Wallace and others
Susan Orlean, guest editor, is the author of My Kind of Place, The Orchid Thief, The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup, and Saturday Night. A staff writer for The New Yorker since 1982, she has also written for Outside, Esquire, Rolling Stone, and Vogue.
About the Author
ROBERT ATWAN has been the series editor of The Best American Essays since its inception in 1986. He has edited numerous literary anthologies and written essays and reviews for periodicals nationwide.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Robert Atwan ix
Introduction by Susan Orlean xv
Roger Angell. La Vie en Rose 1
from The New Yorker
Andrea Barrett. The Sea of Information 9
from The Kenyon Review
Paul Crenshaw. Storm Country 21
from Southern Humanities Review
Brian Doyle. Joyas Voladoras 28
from The American Scholar
Kitty Burns Florey. Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog 31
from Harper's Magazine
Jonathan Franzen. The Comfort Zone 37
from The New Yorker
Ian Frazier. If Memory Doesn't Serve 56
from The Atlantic Monthly
Mark Greif. Against Exercise 62
from n 1
Edward Hoagland. Small Silences 74
from Harper's Magazine
Ted Kooser. Small Rooms in Time 100
from River Teeth
Jonathan Lethem. Speak, Hoyt-Schermerhorn 106
from Harper's Magazine
E. J . Levy. Mastering the Art of French Cooking 121
from Salmagundi
Michael Martone. Contributor's Note 131
from Flyway
David Masello. My Friend Lodovico 135
from The New York Times
Danielle Ofri. Living Will 139
from The Missouri Review
Sam Pickering. Dog Days 151
from River Teeth
Oliver Sacks. Speed 161
from The New Yorker
Cathleen Schine. Dog Trouble 181
from The New Yorker
David Sedaris. Old Faithful 195
from The New Yorker
Paula Speck. Six Seconds 203
from Meridian
Bert O. States. Skill Display in Birding Groups 208
from The North American Review
Robert Stone. The Prince of Possibility 222
from The New Yorker
Ellen Ullman. Dining with Robots 242
from The American Scholar
David Foster Wallace. Consider the Lobster 252
from Gourmet
Holly Welker. Satin Worship 271
from PMS
Biographical Notes 279
Notable Essays of 2004 285
Kids Q&A
Read the Kids' Q&A with Susan Orlean