The Workshop: Seven Decades of the Iowa Writers Workshop - 43 Stories, Recollections, & Essays on Iowa's Place in Twentieth-Century American Literature

by Tom Grimes

This collection consists of forty-three stories, each with an introduction by writers from the Iowa Workshop. It also includes original essays on both the writing life and trends in 20th century American Literature that were shaped by the growth of the Iowa program and the programs that followed.

Genres: Short Stories, Writing, Fiction, Essays, Anthologies, Literature, Collections

770 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 1999

Reviews

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am stunned, reeling, drunk on short stories and author anecdotes!!
I had this collection through inter-library loan for two weeks with no guarantee of renewal, so I blew through it like a tornado. Now that I've been granted a renewal, I'm going to go back and savor a little before writing a review. This is essential material for all aspiring fiction writers, short-story lovers, and people fascinated by the writing life. But for the love of Gordy(whoever he is), don't be a fool like me! BUY the book, so you can read, reflect, and reference at your leisure.

[Marla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I so enjoy many of these stories. Jane Smiley's "Long Distance," Allan Gurganus's "Blessed Assurance: A Moral Tale," and on and on. (Many have been published elsewhere so there's a good chance you've read lots of these stories already. )

The Iowa Writer's Workshop makes me proud of the land where I was born, even though I did not attend the University of Iowa. When I started working as a journalist after attending Iowa State University, everyone assumed I had attended U of I; it became monotonous after awhile.

Writers can be grown anywhere, even journalists and poets.

[Jason Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a six buck used book purchase well-spent. Absolute perfection in the American short story genre from authors who graduated from the prestigious University of Iowa Writer's Workshop during its first 70 years (1929-1999). A whopper of an anthology at nearly 800 pages, but a very rewarding expense of time and effort to read, savor, and digest.

[Yoby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am reading this slowly. Powerful stories, have to get up from the middle of them sometimes and take a break, because it is like watching life of someone you care about immensely.

These are good writers. Highly reccomend

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Why get an MFA?" Ron Carlson once rhetorically asked when the subject came up in his workshop. "You can publish without one. The only reason you need an MFA is if you want to teach." Administrators across the country have arguments against this assertion. They might find some supporting evidence in the end pages of The Workshop: Seven Decades of the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Of course the anthology is mostly comprised of a lot of good stories if you like stories with trouble in them. "A Solo Song: For Doc” is more than just historical fiction about how a railroad retired a black man, a “waiter’s waiter.” Besides race, James Alan McPherson embeds ageism and sexism into the plot.

Allan Gurganus’ “Blessed Assurance: a Moral Tale” uses death and race to keep the plot rising. It has so many subplots that payoff, too. The narrator’s embrace of grace at the end, rather than epiphany marks it as a good post-postmodern long story.

Kim Edwards' "The Story of My Life" was one of my favorites, the theme being a child loved for her symbolism rather than her essence. The plot also seem seems prescient considering what happened to Dr. George Tiller on May 31, 2009."

Editor Tom Grimes' prefaces for each decade are just long enough to put the stories in historical context, the ending of wars and equality for women being to forces clearly at work in the stories themselves.

The authors' commentaries and recollections occasionally include a good vignette. The administration of creative writing gets unromantic takes from John Leggett and R.V. Cassill. It's ironic that their rhetoric is the backwards argument that creative writing survives both the internal assault by often "emotionally needy and unreliable" faculty and "writing programs taking on the the colors of regular academic programs" (710, 753). Perhaps creative writing pedagogy is teaching reasons to doubt and hope in the process and then listening and reading for evidence of those things in our students.

DISCLOSURE: I attended The Napa Writers' Conference and had workshops there with several of the writers in the anthology, so I might've had an edge imagining these voices.

Later at SDSU, Jerry Bumpus, who earns distinction as the only writer who could actually write in Kenny's Bar (741), was my thesis chair, and he saved me a lot of wear & tear on life & car by allowing me to work on my thesis in his backyard in Escondido. At my MFA reading, Bumpus introduced me on stage at The Belly Up Tavern, where I'd enhanced my pay from teaching by bartending a couple of times a week. Bumpus seemed happy for me that I could get any kind of work done with all that beer, music, dancing, ping-pong and pool going on all around. Commute to school, get a commuter's recollection.

[Christie Bane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read A LOT. And for me to say that any book is the best writing I've ever experienced means something. This massive book (766 pages, tiny font, easily useable as a doorstop) was a joyful experience from start to finish for anyone who loves good writing. It's a collection of stories and essays by graduates of the Iowa Writers Workshop, the oldest and most prestigious MFA writing program in the country. There is no way anyone literate could read these stories and have any doubt that Iowa is not just hype. It's the real deal.

I've read a lot of short stories in the last year or so trying to understand the form of the short story and how you can write something both short and powerful. I've mostly been disappointed because most short stories, to me, come across as snippets of observations of someone's life. The better ones are interesting and relatable, but no more. The typical ones leave me shrugging my shoulders and saying, "So what?" But THESE show what short stories look like when written by masters. The way these authors can make you see and know a character, care what becomes of them, and watch them change in just a few short pages is nothing short of miraculous in my opinion. I have been reading the wrong stuff.

Not only is this book packed full of exquisite writing, it also gives a look inside the myth of the Iowa Writers Workshop. I've always known about it, but I now feel like I've been there -- living the changing seasons and the college town bars and the quirks of famous writers and the seriousness of dedication to writing and the narrow focus of reading and workshops. Even if the writing wasn't as great as it was, the look inside alone would've been worth it.

How great is this book? Great enough that I'm keeping it even though I have hardly any storage space for actual physical books (I couldn't find it on Kindle). I'm keeping it and I will pull it out and read a random short story here and there when I need to be reminded that good short stories exist.

[Stephanie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this book on my shelf since 2004 and finally cracked it open to discover a plethora of wondrous short stories beginning with a Wallace stegner story about the Spanish flu pandemic! Talk about weird timing! The next story, a flannery oconner writer in the 40s, mentioned electric blankets - also on my mind as we head into winter looking for ways to be outside. Anyway, many excellent stories (I skipped to the ones by women) and comprehensive context setting of this important writing institution. Anyone interested in the history of fiction writing in the u.s. will enjoy this ambitious chronicle.

[Amy Colbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.6

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories are 5 star! The pretentious analysis makes me knock off a star.

[Simon A. Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book 5 stars for how many awesome writers it turned me on to. Joy Williams, Ethan Canin, Brady Udall, Pickney Benedict, Charles D'Ambrosio... It really is an amazing collection. Each story comes with a personal introduction by the author.

The Introduciton to the collection is written by the editor, Tom Grimes, and it is a very astute commentary on the benefits of the Iowa Workshop and the building of it's prestegious heritage and reputation. A careful reading of this book is equal to at least one full year of professional courses, and at a fraction of the cost.

[Isla McKetta · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some excellent short stories buried in here, but overall it's a fan book for the Iowa Writers Workshop. So if you know a student who dreams of going there (or always wish you did) dig into the stories and the reminiscences. Otherwise, read it like a soundtrack - for the gems you'd like to read more of - and then move on.

[Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty unreal survey of writers out of Iowa over the course of nearly a century. Also good for anecdotes about growing up through the program, particularly the story Dubus tells about going with Vonnegut to pick up Ralph Ellison at the train in Iowa City.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some incredible reads in this collection. I can't say that I enjoyed each of the stories, though they are all famous writer's with a lot of talent. There should be a little bit of something for everyone. My fave was the original Short-story of the Hustler.

[Fiona Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book in the bargain bin, which is absolutely no reflection on its contents. There are some amazing short stories within, by authors like Flannery O'Connor and Michael Cunningham. Such a good read.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories I have read so far have had humor in them and intelligence. I found it easy to continue reading.

[scherzo♫ · Rating 4 out of 5]

25.5 850 pp from TBR