Introduction by Barbara Solomon
Hope Deferred
Alice Dunbar-NelsonWinter Dreams
F. Scott FitzgeraldA Jazz-Age Clerk
James T. FarrellThree Sketches from The House on Mango Street
Sandra CisnerosThe Untold Lie
Sherwood AndersonWhere We Are Now
Ethan CaninThe Sorrows of Gin
John CheeverPeace of Mind
T. Coraghessan BoyleWhy I Am a Danger to the Public
Barbara KingsolverThe Free Vacation House
Anzia YezierskaJack in the Pot
Dorothy WestMiss Esther's Guest
Sarah Orne JewettThe Gift of the Magi
O. HenryElephant
Raymond CarverLife in the Iron Mills
Rebecca Harding DavisMaggie: A Girl of the Streets
Stephen CraneThe Apostate
Jack LondonUnder the Lion's Paw
Hamlin GarlandA Deal in Wheat
Frank NorrisLouisa
Mary Wilkins FreedmanThe Second Choice
THeodore DreiserEveryone Had a Lobster
Francine ProseMrs. Beazley's Deeds
Charlotte Perkins GilmanBlue Island
J. F. PowersOver the Hill
Kate BravermanA Pair of Silk Stockings
Kate ChopinHe
Katherine Anne PorterI Stand Here Ironing
Tillie OlsenEveryday Use
Alice WalkerKiswana Browne
Gloria Naylor