edited by Joyce Carol Oates

It’s a collection of short stories from Hodges Figgis bargain basement, though a sticker on it proclaims WATERSTONES. There are a number of such collections still down there awaiting release. The stories have been collected from creative writing programs and workshops around North America (which includes Canada I feel forced to add). I have always disliked the idea of writing courses, even before I knew they existed. But exist they do, and if any writer wants to meet people who know something about good writing and generally socialise with people who know how to read, then he/she will eventually join some programme. I can’t really believe that their writing will become conformist because of this. What causes conformity is assuming that if a writer doesn’t have an MA in CR then they are not polished enough to be published.

I’ve read five stories so far. They are in fact quite ‘literary’ in style, that is, they presume the reader has read a fair amount of modern writing and is familiar with the techniques. They are good, well worth reading, but so far they haven’t said anything to me.