Best of
Anthologies

1992

The Portable Beat Reader


Ann Charters - 1992
    Featuring: Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Gary Snyder, Neal Cassady, Gregory Corso, Diane Di Prima, Bob Dylan, Ken Kesey, Charles Bukowski, Michael McClure, and more.

The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales


Chris Baldick - 1992
    Each story contains the common elements of the gothic tale--a warped sense of time, a claustrophobic setting, a link to archaic modes of thought, and the impression of a descent into disintegration. Yet taken together, they reveal the progression of the genre from stories of feudal villains amid crumbling ruins to a greater level of sophistication in which writers brought the gothic tale out of its medieval setting, and placed it in the contemporary world. Bringing together the work of such writers as Eudora Welty, Thomas Hardy, Edgar Allan Poe, William Faulkner, Arthur Conan Doyle, Joyce Carol Oates, and Jorge Luis Borges, The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales presents a wide array of the sinister and unsettling for all lovers of ghost stories, fantasy, and horror.

The Oxford Book of American Short Stories


Joyce Carol OatesWilliam Carlos Williams - 1992
    Why, she asks, when writers such as Samuel Clemens, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor, Saul Bellow, and John Updike have among them written hundreds of short stories, do anthologists settle on the same two or three titles by each author again and again? Isn't the implicit promise of an anthology that it will, or aspires to, present something different, unexpected? In The Oxford Book of American Short Stories, Joyce Carol Oates offers a sweeping survey of American short fiction, in a collection of fifty-six tales that combines classic works with many different, unexpected gems, and that invites readers to explore a wealth of important pieces by women and minority writers. Some selections simply can't be improved on, Oates admits, and she happily includes such time-honored works as Irving's Rip Van Winkle, Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart, and Hemingway's A Clean, Well-Lighted Place. But alongside these classics, Oates introduces such little-known stories as Mark Twain's Cannibalism in the Cars, a story that reveals a darker side to his humor (That morning we had Morgan of Alabama for breakfast. He was one of the finest men I ever sat down to...a perfect gentleman, and singularly juicy). From Melville come the juxtaposed tales The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids, of which Oates says, Only Melville could have fashioned out of 'real' events...such harrowing and dreamlike allegorical fiction. From Flannery O'Connor we find A Late Encounter With the Enemy, and from John Cheever, The Death of Justina, one of Cheever's own favorites, though rarely anthologized. The reader will also delight in the range of authors found here, from Charles W. Chesnutt, Jean Toomer, and Sarah Orne Jewett, to William Carlos Williams, Kate Chopin, and Zora Neale Hurston. Contemporary artists abound, including Bharati Mukherjee and Amy Tan, Alice Adams and David Leavitt, Bobbie Ann Mason and Tim O'Brien, Louise Erdrich and John Edgar Wideman. Oates provides fascinating introductions to each writer, blending biographical information with her own trenchant observations about their work, plus a long introductory essay, in which she offers the fruit of years of reflection on a genre in which she herself is a master. This then is a book of surprises, a fascinating portrait of American short fiction, as filtered through the sensibility of a major modern writer.

Lightning / Midnight / The Bad Place


Dean Koontz - 1992
    Throughout her childhood she is plagued by ever more terrifying troubles, but she is protected by a mysterious stranger who acts as her guardian. Then the lightning strikes once more and shatters her world. The adventure - and the terror - have only just begun. Midnight: What is the dark and fearful secret that haunts Moonlight Cove? A string of inexplicable deaths has occurred in this idyllic, picturesque coastal town, and four people are drawn together by terrifying circumstances. As the darkness descends, these four must confront the chilling nightmare of Moonlight Cove. The Bad Place: Frank Pollard awakens in an alley, knowing nothing but his name - and that he is in great danger. Bobby and Julie Dakota help him to solve this mystery, but they are drawn into ever-darkening realms where they encounter the deadly, hate-filled figure stalking Frank.

The Howling Man


Charles Beaumont - 1992
    Beaumont's talents also helped bring to life such cinematic terrors as 'The Premature Burial' and 'The Masque of the Red Death'. As a writer of short stories, his contribution to the landscape of our nightmares is unequalled. The Howling Man is the definitive collection of Beaumont's most haunting work. Here are the classics - "The Hunger," "Miss Gentilbelle," "Free Dirt," along with five never-before-published stories. The Howling Man features introductions by Robert Bloch, Dennis Etchison, Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, Roger Corman, Richard Matheson and many other masters of horror and dark fantasy. They offer illuminating tributes to Beaumont - as a friend, a colleague, and a man whose dark magic left an indelible stamp on modern horror fiction, and on their own imaginations.

The Top 500 Poems


William HarmonAlexander Pope - 1992
    These works speak across centuries, beginning with Chaucer's resourceful inventions and moving through Shakespeare's masterpieces, John Donne's complex originality, and Alexander Pope's mordant satires. The anthology also features perennial favorites such as William Blake, William Wordsworth, and John Keats; Emily Dickinson's prisms of profundity; the ironies of Wallace Stevens and T.S. Eliot; and the passion of Sylvia Plath and Allen Ginsberg. These 500 poems are verses that readers either know already or will want to know, encapsulating the visceral power of truly great literature. William Harmon provides illuminating commentary to each work and a rich introduction that ties the entire collection together.

The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories


Tom ShippeyLewis Padgett - 1992
    The tales are organized chronologically to give readers a sense of how the genre's range, vitality, and literary quality have evolved over time. Each tale offers a unique vision, an altered reality, a universe all its own. Readers can sample H.G. Well's 1903 story The Land Ironclads (which predicted the stalemate of trench warfare and the invention of the tank), Jack Williamson's The Metal Man, a rarely anthologized gem written in 1928, Clifford D. Simak's 1940s classic, Desertion, set on "the howling maelstrom that was Jupiter", Frederik Pohl's 1955 The Tunnel Under the World (with its gripping first line, "On the morning of June 15th, Guy Burckhardt woke up screaming out of a dream"), right up to the current crop of writers, such as cyberpunk's Bruce Sterling and William Gibson, whose 1982 story Burning Chrome foreshadows the idea of virtual reality, and David Brin's Piecework, written in 1990. In addition, Shippey provides an informative introduction, examining the history of the genre, its major themes, and its literary techniques.

Midnight Graffiti


Jessica HorstingDan Simmons - 1992
    . .It's got its fingers on the fear-loving pulse of the nation like no magazine around. Already winner of the American Horror Award and nominated for a Hugo, Midnight Graffiti has re-created the genre in just the first few years of its existence -- defying taboos, exalting the subnormal, mining our richest, most sinister fantasies, bringing you the best new works by the most acclaimed masters and hottest writers on the dark side of fiction.STEPHEN KING brings a plague of terror down from the peaceful skies of Maine . . . you may want to close your shutters. DAVID J. SCHOW cruises the L.A. streets with a martyred punk whose distinctive tag burns through the void of the voids. JOE R. LANSDALE finds a plastic, inflatable friend you can take almost . . . anywhere. NANCY COLLINS demystifies the messiah reborn, an avenging angel of the suburbs with a strange and savage appetite. And HARLAN ELLISON, DAN SIMMONS, NEIL GAIMAN, REX MILLER, STEVEN R. BOYETT, K.W. JETER, and JOHN SHIRLEY all bring you original tales from the farthest corners of the imagination that until now could only be found in the horror-haunted pages of . . . MIDNIGHT GRAFFITI.

Daughters of Africa


Margaret BusbyMakeda - 1992
    A monumental literary enterprise, it is the most inclusive anthology ever attempted of oral and written literature--in every conceivable genre--by women of African descent the world over. (Pantheon)List of Contributors Continued:Dorothy West, Carolina Maria de Jesus, Ellen Kuzwayo, Billie Holiday, Claudia Jones, Margaret Walker, Gwendolyn Brooks, Marie Vieux-Chauvet, Caroline Ntseliseng Khaketla, Aída Cartagena Portalatín, Louise Simone Bennett-Coverley, Alice Childress

Marvel Visionaries: Jim Steranko


Jim Steranko - 1992
    A deep dive into the masterful work of Steranko including a classic Captain America adventure, guest-starring the Incredible Hulk, and an all-time great X-Men story.

The Super Hugos


Isaac AsimovLarry Niven - 1992
    Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Larry Niven, Poul Anderson, Frank Herbert, Roger Zelazny, Harlan Ellison, Anne McCaffrey, Orson Scott Card, and others.Contents: Introduction / Charles Sheffield --Sandkings / George R.R. Martin --The bicentennial man / Isaac Asimov --Enemy mine / Barry B. Longyear --The star / Arthur C. Clarke --The big front yard / Clifford D. Simak --"Repent, Harlequin!" said the Ticktockman / Harlan Ellison --Weyr search / Anne McCaffrey --Neutron star / Larry Niven --I have no mouth, and I must scream / Harlan Ellison --Flowers for Algernon / Daniel Keyes

Sword and Sorceress IX


Marion Zimmer BradleyMercedes Lackey - 1992
    In all of fantasy's far-flung realms, women of power - whether trained in the ways of the warrior or in the deepest secrets of sorcery - rally against those who seek to conquer and enslave.Join today's most visionary fantasy writers - Mercedes Lackey, Diana Paxson, Josepha Sherman, and their comrades in words - as they lead you on quests for:shape-changers who prowl the night in search of unsuspecting prey;a sword whose cost could prove far greater than gold;a dragon whose magic may seem more of a curse than a blessing - and countless other adventures where one miscast spell or off-target arrow could see the forces of darkness invading all the magic's lands...Introduction (Sword And Sorceress IX) • (1992) • essay by Marion Zimmer BradleySlave to the Sword • (1992) • short story by Tanya BeatyShadows Do Not Bleed • (1992) • short story by Bruce D. ArthursBeastly! • (1992) • short story by Lynne Armstrong-JonesPiper • (1992) • short story by Susan Hanniford CrowleyStopthrust • (1992) • short story by Diana L. PaxsonElynne Dragonchild • (1992) • short story by Phil BrucatoFreeing Souls • (1992) • short story by Lisa DeasonBlademistress • (1992) • short story by Jessie D. EakerSorcerers' Gate • (1992) • short story by Patricia Duffy NovakThe Birthday Gift • (1992) • short story by Elisabeth WatersTangled Webs • (1992) • short story by Laura J. UnderwoodWinterwood • (1992) • short story by Stephanie D. ShaverRed Wings • (1992) • short story by Josepha ShermanAbove the Ground • (1992) • short story by Eric HainesOn a Night Like Any Other • (1992) • short story by Mark TompkinsA Woman's Weapon • (1992) • short story by Mercedes LackeyBehind the Waterfall • (1992) • short story by Mary FreyHoard • (1992) • short story by Steven PiziksQueen of the Dead • (1992) • short story by Dorothy J. HeydtThe Flower that Does Not Wither • (1992) • short story by Dave SmedsTo Have and to Hold • (1992) • short story by Linda GordonThe Catalyst • (1992) • short story by Lee Ann MartinsBreaking Walls • (1992) • short story by Leslie Ann MillerThe Enchanted Frog • (1992) • novelette by Cynthia L. WardThe Price of the Gods • (1992) • short story by Roxana PiersonTiger's Eye • (1992) • short fiction by Syne Mitchell

Anthology of Modern Palestinian Literature


Salma Khadra Jayyusi - 1992
    Presented here are translations of poems, stories, and excerpts from novels, as well as works by Palestinian poets who write in English. Also included are personal narratives by Palestinian writers depicting the varied aspects of Palestinian life from the turn of the century to the present. These images capture life in Arab Palestine before 1948 and during the wars of 1948 and 1967, and vivify the ensuing calamities experienced by Palestinians in the diaspora and under occupation.Many generations of Palestinian writers are represented -those still living in their own land, either in Israel proper or on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and those who write as exiles from the perspective of the Palestinian diaspora.Biographical sketches introduce the authors, and a comprehensive chronology of modern Palestinian history provides background for some of the events and places referred to in the selections. The introduction provides a concise but thorough critical history of Palestinian literature during the twentieth century.

Horse & Pony Stories


Christine Pullein-ThompsonWill James - 1992
    H . Lawrence, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle & Tolstoy, as well as fro m more modern masters of the genre such as Monica Dickens & Michael Morpurgo. '

Freak Show (Horror Writers of America)


F. Paul Wilson - 1992
    Cupp, Kathryn Ptacek, Douglas Borton, Morgan Fields, Richard Lee Byers, and others.

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: The Final Conflict: Yet More of the Best (?) from the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest


Scott Rice - 1992
    Based on the entries in this fourth installment of It Was a Dark & Stormy Night, the depths are still to be plumbed.

The Best American Essays 1992


Susan Sontag - 1992
    This year Susan Sontag has collected an extraordinary range of talent that includes such notables as Joan Didion, John Updike, Jamaica Kincaid, and Stanley Elkin.

Ladies


Boris Vallejo - 1992
    Boris'' mastery of the art of the fantastic, along with Doris''s spellbinding storytelling bring ancient legends into our modern world.'

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Ninth Annual Collection


Gardner DozoisPat Cadigan - 1992
    With a unique combination of foresight and perspective, Dozois continues to collect outstanding work by newcomers and established authors alike, reflecting the present state of the genre while suggesting its future directions. With the editor's annual summary of the year in the field, and his appendix of recommended reading, this book is indispensable for anyone interested in contemporary science fiction.Contents: *Summation: 1991 (1992) • essay by Gardner Dozois *Beggars in Spain [Sleepless] (1991) / novella by Nancy Kress *Living Will (1991) / novelette by Alexander Jablokov *A Just and Lasting Peace (1991) / short story by Lois Tilton *Skinner's Room [Bridge Trilogy] (1990) / short story by William Gibson *Prayers on the Wind (1991) / novella by Walter Jon Williams *Blood Sisters (1991) / short story by Greg Egan *The Dark (1991) / short story by Karen Joy Fowler *Marnie (1991) / novelette by Ian R. MacLeod *A Tip on a Turtle (1991) / novelette by Robert Silverberg *Ubermensch! (1991) / short story by Kim Newman *Dispatches from the Revolution (1991) / novelette by Pat Cadigan *Pipes (1991) / short story by Robert Reed *Matter's End (1991) / novelette by Gregory Benford *A History of the Twentieth Century, with Illustrations (1991) / novelette by Kim Stanley Robinson *Gene Wars (1991) / short story by Paul J. McAuley *The Gallery of His Dreams (1991) / novella by Kristine Kathryn Rusch *A Walk in the Sun (1991) / short story by Geoffrey A. Landis *Fragments of an Analysis of a Case of Hysteria (1991) / novelette by Ian McDonald *Angels in Love (1991) / short story by Kathe Koja *Eyewall (1991) / novelette by Rick Shelley *Pogrom [Home Front] (1991) / short story by James Patrick Kelly *The Moat (1991) / short story by Greg Egan *Voices (1991) / short story by Jack Dann *FOAM (1991) / novelette by Brian W. Aldiss *Jack (1991) / novella by Connie Willis *La Macchina [The Holy Machine] (1991) / short story by Chris Beckett *One Perfect Morning, with Jackals [Kirinyaga • 1] (1991) / short story by Mike Resnick *Desert Rain (1991) / novella by Pat Murphy, Mark L. Van Name *Honorable Mentions: 1991 (1992) • essay by Gardner DozoisAlso published titled: The Year's Best Science Fiction: Ninth Annual CollectionAlso published titled: The Giant Book of Fantastic SF.

Black Thunder: An Anthology of African-American Drama


William B. BranchEd Bullins - 1992
    Playwrights include George C. Wolfe, Leslie Lee, Steve Carter, Amiri Baraka, P.J. Gibson, William Branch, Alexander Simmons, Ed Bullins, and August Wilson.

Blood and Roses: The Vampire in 19th Century Literature


Adele Olivia Gladwell - 1992
    Seventeen seminal texts by legendary European authors, covering the whole of that delirious period from Gothic and Romantic, through Symbolism and Decadence to proto-Surrealism and beyond, in a single volume charged with sex, blood and horror.

A Pocketful Of Prose: Vintage Short Fiction


David Madden - 1992
    The works include source materials to encourage further discussion and analysis, Among these enhancement are author's comments, biographical and critical commentaries, and sections of a play and a film script for comparison of media. The reception of this series has supported the original assumption that students and teachers would welcome an innovative alternative to huge anthologies, which are rarely used entirely, tend to be too bulky to carry and to handle in class. This anthology is aimed at satisfying the need for a concise, quality collection that students will find inexpensive sand that instructors will enjoy teaching.

Kissed By Magic / Belonging to Taylor


Kay Hooper - 1992
    But when she finds herself in the seductive embrace of her devastatingly handsome assistant, Donovan, she's not sure if it's love that's in his eyes - or a hungry desire to climb the corporate ladder.She only knows she's fallen under his spell ...Belonging to TaylorTrevor King would do anything for a woman in tears - anything but marry her! When he gallantly offers a hankie to a weeping Taylor Shannon, he's drawn into her world faster than he can say "I do," and is determined to resist her tearful marriage proposal. But how can a man keep from falling for a sexy spitfire who feminine wiles are coupled with mind-reading mischief?

Being in the World: An Environmental Reader for Writers


Scott Slovic - 1992
    

The Beat Generation Boxed Set


Rhino Records - 1992
    

Visions of Fear


David G. HartwellRichard Matheson - 1992
    Its companion collection is Foundations of Fear, of which Visions of Fear is the third and final volume released in mass market paperback. Features stories by Clive Barker, Philip K. Dick, and many others.

After Aztlan: Latino Poetry of the Nineties


Ray Gonzalez - 1992
    

The New Oxford Book of Seventeenth-Century Verse


Alastair Fowler - 1992
    Milton wrote Paradise Lost, Donne composed his Metaphysical verse, and Shakespeare his late Romances, not to mention the work of Dryden, Marvell, Jonson, and many others. Now, this remarkable quantity of extraordinary literature has been brought together in one large volume, The New Oxford Book of Seventeenth-Century Verse. Like the previous edition, all of the best known works are present, but this new edition also responds to considerable changes in scholarship and perspective in recent years. Popular and minor poets take a place alongside their more well known peers. Alastair Fowler, the collection's distinguished editor, has also included a generous portion of poetry by women (virtually for the first time), as well as a sampling of American colonial verse. In responding to new demands for inclusiveness, in striking a balance between Metaphysical and Jonsonian poetry, and in preserving the already recognized canonical works, The New Oxford Book of Seventeenth-Century Verse will be recognized as the finest collection of poetry from a century of exceptionally fine literature.

Modern American Drama, 1945 1990


Christopher Bigsby - 1992
    Christopher Bigsby takes a fresh look at the major figures who have shaped postwar American drama, exploring the works of Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, David Mamet, and Sam Shepard. Bigsby also looks at Broadway and at the theatre which geared itself to the experiences of race and gender, examining the works of Lorraine Hansberry, August Wilson, and Marsha Norman, among others.