Best of the Oxford American: Ten Years from the Southern Magazine of Good Writing

by Marc Smirnoff (Editor), Rick Bragg (Foreword), Rick Bass (Contributor)

A comprehensive anthology of The Oxford American's most memorable pieces published during the first decade of the magazine's existence, these articles prove provocative, opinionated, and irreverent. The Oxford American has served as an incubator and archive for the most promising and most established voices in contemporary Southern writing. It offers up an extraordinary range of perspectives on a multitude of subjects, while always avoiding the hackneyed notion of the South as the exclusive province of the gothic or the sentimental dominion of moonlight and magnolias. Collected here are the magazine's stellar fiction and poetry offered alongside its best commentary, profiles, photography, comics, and reporting on politics, history, religions, art, books, film, and humor.

Genres: Essays, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

Reviews

[Jason Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic collection from the first 10 years of The Oxford American, a general interest and literary magazine based at Arkansas State University. Self described as "The New Yorker of the South". Some darn good writing. Barnes and Noble carries this magazine- check it out sometimes. subscriptions are available on line 4 quarterly issues a year. Best anthology I've read in a while.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I don’t claim to be an expert on writing, on telling stories, but I think it must be a lot like cooking.
Here in this collection are some of the best stories, articles and poems to run in The Oxford American, by an assortment of its best writers.
Not one of them is afraid of the salt shaker.” Forward

There are more than thirty wonderful pieces of writing in this anthology. Like the Oxford American magazine, this book contains short stories, poems and essays. The subject matter includes tributes, food, religion and other subjects that are important to life in the South and the world.

I especially liked the pieces by Mark Richard, Hal Crowther, Rick Bass, Rosanne Cash and Sister Helen Prejean. Really, I enjoyed reading most of this book. It truly is some of the best writing I have encountered. If you like to read essays and/or short stories, I recommend you pick this up and spend a little time with these writers.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Margie Ferguson]

I'll admit to being disappoined that the editor is from California, which according to my fellow Mississippians means he might as well be a yankee.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dispatches from my new favorite magazine, The Oxford American. Great great pieces here by John Jeremiah Sullivan, Rick Bass, Barry Hannah, Rosanne Cash, and Tom Piazza, among others.

[J.D. Brayton · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS is the journal of contemporary Southern literature and essay/short story. It makes The New Yorker look like the smug, self-important slog it has become.