This seminal volume assembles the most significant short fiction published in American periodicals during the tumultuous year of nineteen hundred and seventeen. The editor undertakes a rigorous examination of the nation's literary landscape, arguing against European critics that the American short story is not at a low ebb, but is instead vibrant, democratic, and organically alive. The collection features work by accomplished artists such as Katharine Fullerton Gerould, Wilbur Daniel Steele, and H. G. Dwight, alongside promising newcomers like Thomas Beer and Gertrude Nafe.
The anthology explores a vast range of human experience, from the vanity and hope of ordinary people on excursion boats to the quiet tragedies of rural and urban existence. Stories like Edwina Stanton Babcock's 'The Excursion' and Susan Glaspell's 'A Jury of Her Peers' delve deeply into the psychological reality of their characters, presenting a genuine criticism of life rather than mere mechanical plotting. The collection consistently prioritizes organic substance and artistic form over commercial standardization and wordiness.
In addition to the primary fiction, the book includes the comprehensive Yearbook of the American Short Story for nineteen hundred and seventeen. This extensive reference section provides bibliographic lists, addresses of American magazines publishing short stories, biographical rolls of honor, and critical summaries of the best books and stories of the year. Through these exhaustive indexes and critiques, the volume serves both as an anthology of enduring literary art and as an indispensable historical record of a transitional era in American letters.
The volume concludes with specific dedications and acknowledgments, highlighting the ongoing struggle of serious writers to maintain artistic integrity against the rising tide of commercialism in magazine publishing. It stands as a testament to the belief that genuine literature must spring from the fresh, living current of contemporary experience. The ultimate vision of the collection is one of national unity achieved through the varied, democratic expression of a multi-ethnic society finding its conscious voice.
