The Best American Short Stories 1985, a volume in The Best American Short Stories series, was edited by Shannon Ravenel and by guest editor Gail Godwin. The volume was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Background The series is considered one of the two "best-known annual anthologies of short fiction""Short and Sweet" by Mark Harris, Entertainment Weekly, 11/05/99, issue 511, page 73. and has anthologized more than 2,000 short stories, including works by some of the most famous writers in contemporary American literature, curated by well-known guest editors since 1915."The Best American Short Stories of the Century," Publishers Weekly, 3/8/1999, volume 246, issue 10, page 47. In particular, the Willa Cather Review wrote that The Best American Short Stories series "became a repository of values" for creative writing programs and literary magazines, specifically with considerable "influence" in college libraries, short fiction courses, and fiction workshops."'Long-Cellared Wine': 'Double Birthday,' Edward J. H. O'Brien, and the Best American Short Stories Series" by Timothy W. Bintrim and Scott Riner, Willa Cather Review, spring 2023, volume 64, issue 1, page 18.
Critical reception Kirkus Reviews stated that "nothing dramatically robs you of breath in this year's selection" but noted the prestige of the names included in this year's line-up. They particularly liked "Sarah Cole: A Type of Love Story" by Russell Banks as the "Best of the realism" and lauded Michael Bishop's "Dog Lives" as the "most artful" of the "academic fiction."
Amy Hempel, writing for Los Angeles Times, found some entries weak, such as E. L. Doctorow, Joyce Carol Oates, and Banks' stories, while lauding Beth Nugent's "City of Boys" and Sharon Sheehe Stark's "The Johnstown Polka."
Short stories included Author Story SourceRussell Banks "Sarah Cole: A Type of Love Story"The Missouri ReviewMichael Bishop"Dogs' Lives"The Missouri ReviewEthan Canin"Emperor of the Air"The Atlantic MonthlyE. L. Doctorow"The Leather Man"The Paris ReviewMargaret Edwards"Roses"Virginia Quarterly ReviewStarkey Flythe"Walking, Walking"Northwest ReviewH. E. Francis"The Sudden Trees"Prairie SchoonerBev Jafek"You've Come a Long Way, Mickey Mouse"ColumbiaJohn L'Heureux"Clothing"TendrilPeter Meinke"The Piano Tuner"Atlantic MonthlyWright Morris"Fellow-Creatures"The New YorkerBharati Mukherjee"Angela"Mother JonesBeth Nugent"City of Boys"North American ReviewJoyce Carol Oates"Raven's Wing"EsquireNorman Rush"Instruments of Seduction"The Paris ReviewDeborah Seabrooke"Secrets"Virginia Quarterly ReviewMarjorie Sandor"The Gittel"The Georgia ReviewJane Smiley"Lily"The Atlantic MonthlySharon Sheehe Stark"The Johnstown Polka"West BranchJoy Williams"The Skater"Esquire
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