Context is Everything

A little while ago, Jeff VanderMeer asked the important question: what do you look for in an anthology?

I meant to answer at the time, but I had been mulling over a blog entry on a similar topic for some time, and it was all just too big in my head to condense down to a comment. And, you know, I didn't get around to it. I recommend checking out the comments on that post, though, there's a wealth of reader response there!

Part of the reason I've been thinking about this is a conversation I...