UNITED STATES AUTHOR · FICTION · SHORT
Herman Melville
Also known as: H. Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist and poet who is often classified as part of dark romanticism. He is best known for his novel Moby Dick and novella Billy Budd, the latter of which was published posthumously.
IT WAS NOT a very white jacket, but white enough, in all conscience, as the sequel will show.
— from White-Jacket
Most acclaimed
The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction -- Shorter Seventh Edition
Stories I want to know why / Sherwood Anderson Death by Landscape Related: Atwood, Why do you write? / Margaret Atwood Sonny's blues / James Baldwin Gorilla, my love Related: Bambara, What is it I think I'm doing anyhow? / Toni Cade Bambara Snow / Ann Beattie [Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge]( / Ambrose Bierce Pierre Menard, author of the Quixote / Jorge Luis Borges Miriam /Truman Capote Cathedral Related: Carver, From on writing / Raymond Carver Paul's case Related: Andrea Barrett on Paul's case / Willa Cather Enormous radio / John Cheever Lady with the dog Related: Chekhov, Letter to DV Grigorovich Letter to A S Suvorin / Anton Chekhov [Story of an hour]( / Kate Chopin Heart of darkness Related: Conrad, Preface to the nigger of the Narcissus'' Letter to Barrett H Clark Barry Hannah on heart of darkness C P Sarvan, Racism and the heart of darkness / Joseph Conrad Continuity of parks / Julio Cortazar Open boat Related: Crane, Letter to John Northern Hiliard Allan Gurganus on the open boat Charles C Walcutt, [Stephen Crane: Naturalist] / Stephen Crane Wall of fire rising / Edwidge Danticat Intruder / Andre Dubus King of the bingo game Related: Ellison, an interview / Ralph Ellison Matchimanito / Louise Erdrich [Barn burning]( [Rose for Emily]( Related: Faulkner, an interview / William Faulkner Babylon revisited / F Scott Fitzgerald Great falls Related: Ford on Bharati Mukherjee's Management of grief / Richard Ford Handsomest drowned man in the world / Gabriel Garcia Marquez Yellow wallpaper / Charlotte Perkins Gilman Soldier's embrace / Nadine Gordimer [Young Goodman Brown]( Related: Edgar Allan Poe, Review of Hawthorne's twice told tales / Nathaniel Hawthorne Hills like white elephants Related: Frederick Busch on hills like white elephants Hemingway, an interview / Ernest Hemingway Conscience of the court / Zora Neale Hurston [Araby]( [Dead]( Related: C C Loomis, Jr., structure and sympathy in Joyce's The dead'' / James Joyce Metamorphosis Hunger artist Related: Stanley Corngold, Kafka's the metamorphosis: metamorphosis of the metaphor Kafka, Letter to Max Brod / Franz Kafka White horse / Yasunari Kawabata Girl / Jamaica Kincaid Horse dealer's daughter Rocking horse winner Related: Lawrence, Why the novel matters / DH Lawrence Ones who walk away from Omelas / Ursula K Le Guin Angel Levine / Bernard Malamud Disorder and early sorrow Related: Mann, letter to Paul Amann / Thomas Mann Bliss / Katherine Mansfield Shiloh / Bobbie Ann Mason Adventure in Paris Related: Maupassant, the novel / Guy De Maupassant Why I like country music / James Alan Mcpherson [Bartleby, the Scrivener]( Related: Leo Marx, Melville's parable of the walls / Herman Melville Management of grief Related: Richard Ford on the Management of grief Mukherjee, a four-hundred-year-old woman / Bharati Mukherjee Royal beatings Related: Munro, What is real? / Alice Munro Signs and symbols / Vladimir Nabokov How I contemplated the world from the Detroit house of correction and began my life over again Related: Oates, the Art and craft of revision / Joyce Carol Oates Things they carried / Tim O'Brien Good man is hard to find Everything that rises must converge Related: O'Connor, the Nature and aim of fiction Lee Smith on a good man is hard to find / Flannery O'Connor Guests of the nation Related: Edward P Jones on Guests of the nation / Frank O'Connor O yes / Tillie Olsen [Fall of the House of Usher]( Related: Poe, the Philosophy of composition Poe, Review of Hawthorne's twice told tales Richard Wilbur, the House of Poe / Edgar Allan Poe Jilting of Granny Weatherall Related: Porter, an interview / Katherine Anne Porter Conversion of the Jews / Philip Roth Gimpel the fool / Isaac Bashevis Singer Chrysanthemums / John Steinbeck Rules of the game / Amy Tan Secret life of Walter Mitty Related: Thurber, an interview / James Thurber Death of Ivan Ilych Related: Gary Saul Morson, the Reader as Voyeur: Tolstoi and the poetics of didactic fiction Tolstoy, What is art? / Leo Tolstoy A & P Related: Updike, Accepting the Howells medal / John Updike Moths / Helena Maria Viramontes Everyday use / Alice Walker Blackberry winter / Robert Penn Warren Worn path Related: Susan Dodd on a Worn path Welty, an interview / Eudora Welty Use of force / William Carlos Williams In the garden of the North American martyrs / Tobias Wolff Kew gardens / Virginia Woolf Man who was almost a man / Richard Wright Writers On Writing Why do you write? / Margaret Atwood What is it I think I'm doing anyhow? / Toni Cade Bambara Letter to a young writer / Richard Bausch from On writing / Raymond Carver Letter to DV Grigorovich, March 28, 1886 Letter to AS Suvorin, October 27, 1888 / Anton Chekhov Preface to the Nigger of the Narcissus'' Letter to Barrett H Clark, May 14, 1918 / Joseph Conrad Letter to John Northern Hiliard, February 1895 / Stephen Crane Interview / Ralph Ellison Interview / William Faulkner Interview / Ernest Hemingway Letter to Max Brod, July 5, 1922 / Franz Kafka Why the novel matters / D H Lawrence Letter to Paul Amann, September 10, 1915 / Thomas Mann Novel / Guy De Maupassant Four-hundred-year-old woman / Bharati Mukherjee What is real /Alice Munro Art and craft of revision / Joyce Carol Oates Nature and aim of fiction / Flannery O'Connor Philosophy of composition / Edgar Allan Poe Interview / Katherine Anne Porter Interview / James Thurber What is art? / Leo Tolstoy Accepting the Howells medal / John Updike Interview / Eudora Welty Writing Fiction Reviews And Commentaries Willa Cather's Paul's case'' / Andrea Barrett Ernest Hemingway's Hills like white, elephants'' / Frederick Busch Kafka's the Metamorphosis: metamorphosis of the metaphor / Stanley Corngold Eudora Welty's A worn path'' / Susan Dodd Bharati Mukherjee's The management of grief'' / Richard Ford Stephen Crane's The open boat / Allan Gurganus Joseph Conrad's Heart of darkness / Barry Hannah Frank O'Connor's Guests of the nation'' / Edward P Jones Structure and Sympathy in Joyce's The dead'' / C C Loomis, Jr Melville's Parable of the walls / Leo Marx Reader as voyeur: Tolstoi and the poetics of didactic fiction / Gary Saul Morson Review of Hawthorne's twice told tales / Edgar Allan Poe Racism and the heart of darkness / C P Sarvan Flannery O'Connor's "A good man is hard to find'' / Lee Smith [Stephen Crane: Naturalist] / Charles C Walcutt From the house of Poe / Richard Wilbur Glossary of critical terms Permissions acknowledgments Index of titles
The Story and Its Writer -- Compact Eighth Edition
Collection contains: Stories: Civil peace / Chinua Achebe -- Lone Ranger and Tonto fistfight in heaven / Sherman Alexie -- Act of vengeance / Isabel Allende -- Hands / Sherwood Anderson -- Happy endings / Margaret Atwood -- Sonny's blues / James Baldwin -- Lesson / Toni Cade Bambara -- Black man and white woman in dark green boat / Russell Banks -- Snow / Ann Beattie -- From Fun Home: Old father, old artificer / Alison Bechdel -- The rememberer / Aimee Bender -- [Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge]( / Ambrose Bierce -- Circular ruins / Jorge Luis Borges -- August 2026: There will come soft rains / Ray Bradbury -- Cathedral; A small, good thing ; What we talk about when we talk about love / Raymond Carver -- Paul's case / Willa Carter -- Water names / Lan Samantha Chang -- Swimmer / John Cheever -- Darling / Anton Chekhov -- [Désiré́e's baby]( [Story of an hour]( / Kate Chopin -- Barbie-Q / Sandra Cisneros -- Heart of darkness / Joseph Conrad -- Open boat / Stephen Crane -- How to date a browngirl, blackgirl, whitegirl, or halfie / Junot Diaz -- Battle royal / Ralph Ellison -- The red convertible / Louise Erdrich -- [Rose for Emily]( [That evening sun]( / William Faulkner -- Very old man with enormous wings / Gabriel Garcia Marquez -- Yellow wallpaper / Charlotte Perkins Gilman -- Homage / Nadine Gordimer -- [Young Goodman Brown]( / Nathaniel Hawthorne -- Hills like white elephants / Ernest Hemingway -- Church cancels cow / Amy Hempel -- Things you should know / A. M. Homes -- Sweat / Zora Neale Hurston -- Lottery / Shirley Jackson -- Who's Irish? / Gish Jen -- White heron / Sarah Orne Jewett -- Bad neighbors / Edward P. Jones -- [Araby]( [Dead]( / James Joyce -- Hunger Artist; Metamorphosis / Franz Kafka -- Girl / Jamaica Kincaid -- Interpreter of maladies / Jhumpa Lahiri -- Rocking-horse winner / D.H. Lawrence -- Miss Brill / Katherine Mansfield -- Shiloh / Bobbie Ann Mason -- Necklace / Guy de Maupassant -- [Bartleby, the scrivener]( / Herman Melville -- Nawabdin electrician / Daniyal Mueenuddin -- Management of grief / Bharati Mukherjee -- Dance of the happy shades / Alice Munro -- Where are you going, where you have been? / Joyce Carol Oates -- Things they carried / Tim O'Brien -- Everything that rises must converge; Good country people; Good man is hard to find / Flannery O'Connor -- I stand here ironing / Tillie Olsen -- The shawl / Cynthia Ozick -- Brownies / ZZ Packer -- Conversation with my father / Grace Paley -- [Cask of Amontillado]( [Tell-tale Heart]( Edgar Allan Poe -- The jilting of Granny Weatherall / Katherine Anne Porter -- Job history / Annie Proulx -- From Palestine: Refugeeland / Joe Sacco -- From Persepolis : The veil / Marjane Satrapi -- Yellow woman / Leslie Marmon Silko -- Homework / Helen Simpson -- Prisoner on the hell planet: a case history / Art Spiegelman -- Two kinds / Amy Tan -- Death of Ivan Ilych / Leo Tolstoy -- A&P / John Updike -- The moths / Helena Maria Viramontes -- Harrison Bergeron / Kurt Vonnegut Jr. -- Everyday use / Alice Walker -- Good people / David Foster Wallace -- Worn path / Eudora Welty -- Say yes / Tobias Wolf -- Man who was almost a man / Richard Wright -- Commentaries: Image of Africa: Conrad's ''Heart of darkness'' / Chinua Achebe -- Superman and me / Sherman Alexie -- Form, not plot, in the short story / Sherwood Anderson -- Reading blind / Margaret Atwood -- Autobiographical notes / James Baldwin -- Writing "Poes" / Russell Banks -- Borges and I / Jorge Luis Borges -- Translating Kafka / Ann Charters -- Why I write short stories / John Cheever -- Technique in writing the short story / Anton Chekhov -- How I stumbled upon Maupassant / Kate Chopin -- Sinking of the commodore / Stephen Crane -- A huger artist / R. Crumb; David Zane Mairowitz -- Influence of folklore on ''Battle royal'' / Ralph Ellison -- Meaning of ''Rose for Emily'' / William Faulkner -- Feminist reading of Gilman's ''Yellow wallpaper'' / Sandra M. Gilbert; Susan Gubar -- Why I wrote ''Yellow wallpaper''; Undergoing the cure for nervous prostration / Charlotte Perkins Gilman -- How it feels to be colored me / Zora Neale Hurston -- Morning of June 28,1948 and ''Lottery'' / Shirley Jackson -- On ''Girl'' / Jamaica Kincaid -- Finding your voice / Anne Lamott -- On Tim O'Brien's ''Things they carried'' / Bobbie Ann Mason -- Writer's goal / Guy de Maupassant -- Blackness in Hawthorne's ''Young Goodman Brown'' / Herman Melville -- How I write short stories / Alice Munro -- Stories that define me: Making of a writer; Smooth talk: Short story into film / Joyce Carol Oates -- Alpha company / Tim O'Brien -- Conversation with Ann Charters / Grace Paley -- Importance of the single effect in a prose tale / Edgar Allan Poe -- Language and literature from a Pueblo Indian perspective / Leslie Marmon Silko -- In the canon, for all the wrong reasons / Amy Tan -- Chekhov's intent in ''Darling'' / Leo Tolstoy -- Zora Neale Hurston: Cautionary tale and a partisan view / Alice Walker -- Some remarks on Kafka's funnieness from which probably not enough has been removed / David Foster Wallace -- Is Phoenix Jackson's grandson really dead? / Eudora Welty -- Reading fiction / Richard Wright -- Casebooks: Casebook one: Raymond Carver: One writing; Creative writing 101; The bath / Raymond Carver -- Origin of ''Cathedral'' / Tom Jenks -- Reading of ''What we talk about when we talk about love'' / Arthur M. Saltzman -- Looking for Raymond Carver / A.O. Scott -- Casebook two: Jhumpa Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies": My two lives / Jhumpa Lahiri -- Jhumpa Lahiri / Sean Flynn -- Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies" / Simon Lewis -- Casebook three: Flannery O'Connor: From ''Letters 1954-55''; Writing short stories; Reasonable use of the unreasonable / Flannery O'Connor -- Rhetorical reading of O'Connor's ''Everything that rises must converge'' / Wayne C. Booth -- On ''Good country people'' / Dorothy Tuck McFarland -- Casebook four: Graphic storytelling: What the little old ladies feel / Alison Bechdel -- From "Alternative comics: toward the habit of questioning" / Charles Hatfield -- Are comics serious literature / Michael Kupperman -- From understanding comics: Invisible art / Scott McCloud -- Reading "The Veil" by Marjane Satrapi / Sydney Plum -- Some reflections on Palestine / Joe Sacco / Homage to Joe Sacco / Edward W. Said. Appendices: Reading short stories (Includes Grace Paley, ''Samuel'') -- Elements of fiction -- Brief history of the short story -- Writing about short stories -- Literary theory and critical perspectives -- Glossary of literary terms -- Chronological listing of authors' stories -- Chronological listing of authors and stories -- Index of authors and titles
Journals
1897
A landmark publication in the history of American letters, and a unique opportunity to celebrate the legacy of the one of the great public intellectuals of our time.For more than a half century, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. was at the vital center of American political and cultural life. From his entrance into political leadership circles in the 1950s through his years in the Kennedy White House and up until his very last days, he was that rare thing, a master historian who enjoyed an extraordinary eyewitness vantage on history as it was being made. On intimate terms with many of the most prominent political, cultural and intellectual figures of the last fifty years, he was a man whose proximity to power never obscured his appreciation for the reality of those who have none. For that capacity for empathy and for much else, he was often called American liberalism's greatest voice.For most of his adult life, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. dutifully recorded his experiences and opinions in journals that, until now, have never been seen. Edited by his oldest sons, they offer remarkably fresh and lucid observations on a half century of public life, and a rare and privileged view into the mind of one of America's most distinguished men of letters. Frank, revelatory, suffused with wit and humanity, these entries offer an intimate history of postwar America, from his days on Adlai Stevenson's campaign team to his years in JFK and RFK's inner circle, through to the election of George W. Bush. They contain his candid reminiscences about many of the signal events of our time - the Bay of Pigs, the devastating assassinations of the 1960s, Vietnam, Watergate, the fall of the Soviet Union, Bush v. Gore. These journals also offer an extraordinary window into the lives of the wide range of politicians, intellectuals, writers and actors who were his friends - from the Kennedys to the Clintons, from Henry Kissinger to Adlai Stevenson, from Norman Mailer to Lauren Bacall. Together they form an astonishingly vivid portrait of American politics and culture in the second half of the 20th century - one that only a man who knew everyone and missed nothing, could provide.Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. was one of America's greatest moral and intellectual forces, and the publication of his journals is both itself an epic event in the history of American letters, and a fitting opportunity to celebrate this most remarkable American life.