The Pushcart Prize XLII: Best of the Small Presses 2018 Edition

by Bill Henderson, The Pushcart Prize Editors (Editor)

Not since the days of Hemingway, Pound and Joyce has so much talent been invested in small book presses and little magazines in every part of the country and indeed the world. In order to bring these writers to a wider audience, the Pushcart Prize every year requests that editors from hundreds of presses nominate their year’s best. Nominations are also made by Pushcart’s staff of Contributing Editors, who then assist in the final choice.


Pushcart Prize XLII is a celebration of a wide variety of poets, essayists and short story writers from more than 50 presses. As ever, most writers in this edition appear in the series for the first time.


The Pushcart Prize has been honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Book Critics Circle and is acclaimed by writers, readers and reviewers internationally.

Genres: Short Stories, Poetry

600 pages, Hardcover

First published November 7, 2017

About the author

Bill Henderson (born April 5, 1941) is an American author, editor and publisher best known for his memoirs and the Pushcart Prize series.

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorites this year (in order of appearance):

1. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, by Anthony Wallace
"Kubrick would probably have optioned that concept," said the hostess. "Or even Polanski."

2. Tolstoy and God, by Brian Morton
"I'll give you five hundred dollars if you yell out something Star Trek related."

3. Famous Actor, by Jess Walter
"He pulled a piece of tobacco off his tongue again. Or, actually, I suspect that he pretended to pull a piece of tobacco off his tongue."

4. Dixon, by Bret Anthony Johnston
"Things could have gone smoother out there, I'll tell you that."

5. Dispatch from Flyover Country, by Meghan O'Gieblyn
"...the conversation was always about what was happening elsewhere: what people were listening to in Williamsburg, or what everyone was wearing at Coachella. A sizeable portion of the evening was devoted to the plots of premium TV dramas."

6. On Gay Parenting, by Andrew Solomon
"I am forever weighing whether I have the wherewithal to mention my husband, John, to an elderly someone on a train, or a brusque someone in a shop, or a fundamentalist someone to my left at dinner."

7. Everything You Want Right Here, by Delaney Nolan
"Natalie and I had a trick. We'd been doing it since our first week at Les Sables. We'd walk next to one another down the laser tunnel like totally normal people. Then, as we passed someone, splitting slightly so that we were walking on either side of them, we'd suddenly throw up our hands and scream like goblins and then sprint, as fast as we could, to the opposite end of the tunnel. We never actually saw the person's reaction, but nearly every time we did this, one of us would have to stop before reaching the end of the tunnel, out of breath from hysterical laughing."

[derek allard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology is always one of the highlights of the year and this year doesn’t disappoint. Not ever story or poem is great but the ones that are really resonate (“Creative Types”, “Everything You Want Right Here” come immediately to mind). And like or dislike each work, what is beautiful about this anthology year after year is the uniqueness. The stories aren’t trite or flimsy or the stuff of Hollywood but something much deeper culled from creativity and deep thought ... one author’s all in on something that deserves much more attention than it will ever receive.

[Camille McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from the library to get an idea of what small presses are looking to publish, and it was a great read. I was a little confused by some of the poems, but all of the short stories and creative nonfiction pieces included were very good, some from well-known authors and most from people I hadn't heard of before. There was a great deal of diversity of subjects and time periods. It got a little overwhelming to read so many short pieces in a row so I would recommend reading something else along with this collection for when you want to stick with one story for a while. I am glad I read it and will definitely be looking for other works by the authors of the stories I liked the most. It also gave me a bit of a taste for what different publications are looking for, without me needing to look up each one individually and read back issues, so it saved me some time on that front.
Great collection, really enjoyable.

[Karen Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this volume heavily front-loaded: the first quarter or so of the pieces included some wonderfully imaginative pieces that came at things from unusual angles, pieces that really grabbed me. I got a little lost in the last quarter, but a lot of that was topical.
I've posted comments on each piece in the Pushcart Prize volume, now at XLII 2018, at https://sloopie72.wordpress.com/categ...
Company welcome: agree, disagree, add your own opinion, ask questions, or (as I often do) admit you have no idea what's going on.

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some mighty fine works here—short stories, poems, essays, and memoir—selected by writers and published by alternative presses.

Favorite Pieces:
“Imperatives for Carrying on in the Aftermath,” Natasha Trethewey
“The Leash,” Ada Limon
“The Boatman,” Carolyn Forche
“Stranger, Thank You for Giving Me This Body,” Teresa Dzieglewicz
“Poem Imposing Order,” Keith Ratzlaff
“When I Think Of Tamir Rice While Driving,” Reginald Dwayne Betts
“Bully,” Amit Majmudar
“Famous Actor,” Jess Walter
“Elegy with Grown Folks Music,” Saeed Jones
“About the Tongue,” Christopher Todd Anderson
“Absolute Rhythm,” David Wojahn
“Abracadabra,” Kathleen Lynch
“Gunpowder,” Rebecca Hazleton

[Adrielle]

This anthology helped me get a feel for some journals that I might want to subscribe to and a better sense of what people are publishing right now. Always fun to see pieces held up as examples of good writing when they ignored common writing advice, like "Burn Scars" by Connors in N+1 ignores the advice, "don't start your story with your main character waking up."

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to read this collection, but after stories about a tragedy at a family vacation; an interrogation; a strained relationship; rape; and suffering refugees at the border, I decided it wasn't for me.

[Kassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wildly uneven as ever

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some gems in here! I have to admit, I skim over the poetry.