The Best American Short Stories 1984 is a volume in the long-running The Best American Short Stories anthology series. The 1984 edition was edited by series editor Shannon Ravenel and guest editor John Updike. It was published by Houghton Mifflin in 1984.
The volume features a selection of notable short fiction published in American periodicals during the preceding year, chosen for their literary merit and variety of voice and style.
Background The series is regarded as one of the best-known annual anthologies of short fiction in the United States."Short and Sweet" by Mark Harris, Entertainment Weekly, 11/05/1999, Issue 511, p. 73. Since its inception in 1915, The Best American Short Stories has anthologized more than 2,000 short stories, featuring works by many of the most prominent voices in contemporary American literature. Each annual volume is curated by a notable guest editor in collaboration with the series editor."The Best American Short Stories of the Century," Publishers Weekly, 03/08/1999, Vol. 246, Issue 10, p. 47.
Writer Amy Hempel has recognized The Best American Short Stories, along with the O. Henry Award anthology, as among the most authoritative collections of "the best short fiction published in American and Canadian magazines during the preceding year."
According to the Willa Cather Review, the series "became a repository of values" for creative writing programs and literary journals, exerting significant influence in college libraries, short fiction courses, and fiction workshops."'Long-Cellared Wine': 'Double Birthday,' Edward J. H. O'Brien, and the Best American Short Stories Series" by Timothy W. Bintrim and Scott Riner, Willa Cather Review, Spring 2023, Vol. 64, Issue 1, p. 18.
Critical reception Kirkus Reviews praised John Updike as "the most satisfying guest editor" of the series to date, noting that his "personal taste never leads to the inclusion of second-rate, graceless work."
Writing for The New York Times, author John L'Heureux described the anthology as a collection of "20 solid stories, selected by John Updike. Each provides a good read, a few are truly stunning, and—best of all—they come prefaced by Mr. Updike's lucid and informative introduction."
Short stories included Author Story SourceLee K. Abbott"The Final Proof of Fate and Circumstance"The Georgia ReviewMadison Smartt Bell"The Naked Lady"The Crescent ReviewDianne Benedict"Unknown Feathers"MSSPaul Bowles"In The Red Room"AntaeusMary Ward Brown"The Cure"AscentRick DeMarinis"Gent"CutBankAndre Dubus"A Father's Story"Black Warrior ReviewMavis Gallant"Lena"The New YorkerMary Hood"Inexorable Progress"The Georgia ReviewDonald Justice"The Artificial Moonlight"AntaeusStephen Kirk"Morrison's Reaction"Greensboro ReviewSusan Minot"Thorofare"The New YorkerWright Morris"Glimpse Into Another Country"The New YorkerJoyce Carol Oates"Nairobi"The Paris ReviewCynthia Ozick"Rosa"The New YorkerLowry Pei"The Cold Room"StoriesJonathan Penner"Things To Be Thrown Away"The Yale ReviewNorman Rush"Bruns "The New YorkerJames Salter"Foreign Shores"EsquireJeanne Schinto"Caddies' Day"Greensboro Review
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