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The Best of the Best American Shorts (Hail the Wale!)

Filed under: Looked Into Tagged: Ben McGrath, Best American series, corduroy, Corduroy Appreciation Club, Miles Rohan, TOTT

I know Martin's been covering the New Yorker's many appearances in the "Best American Short Stories/Essays/&c." series in rich and potent detail, but thanks to Leif Peng's wonderful advertising-and-illustration-history site, Today's Inspiration, we now have the definitive example—one that almost certainly trumps all others. Not only are these shorts incredibly fetching and versatile (like Raymond Carver, they come in longer versions, too), they're made of corduroy.

As you may remember from a signature Ben McGrath Talk from about two years ago, perhaps the most delightful organization in New York City is the Corduroy Appreciation Club, for which I'm honored to say I serve not only as a member in good standing but as poet laureate. (My most recent presentation is not yet online, though it is lines on lines.)

Anyway, after the jump, behold the best American shorts to date. The mystical (to CAC members) date of 1 | 11, however, may yet reveal still better ones. It remains to be seen. Or felt. Entirely your choice.

Click to see at original size!

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Emdashes, founded December 2004, is a place where keen and dedicated readers of The New Yorker, past and present, can find related news and commentary: about people, subjects, and ideas within the magazine, and events and conversations outside its pages. Learn more about us and our contributors.

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This site is neither owned nor operated by The New Yorker magazine or Condé Nast Publications.

A few clips

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Review: Does The New Republic's recent redesign mean a change of tune? (for Print)
Proposal: A more attractive MetroCard (for A Brief Message)
Interview: James Surowiecki on what's next for the wisdom of crowds (for Assignment Zero)
Report: Eustace Tilley spruces up for The New Yorker's website redesign (for Print)
Feature: Muslim immigration iconography in the Netherlands (for Print)
Review: books about various New Yorker cartoonists by Liza Donnelly and Iain Topliss (for Newsday)
Profile: screenwriter and novelist Joe Keenan (for Newsday)
Review: The Complete New Yorker (for Print)

More clips.

Tell me more

They say that dashes “are particularly useful in a sentence that is long and complex.” Emdashes—like em dashes—emphasizes what’s between: in particular, between the lines, covers, and issues of a magazine close to my heart.

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Edited by Martin Schneider, designed by Pretty, and illustrated by Inkleaf. Additional drawings by Carolita Johnson. Kissable pencil girl by Jennifer Hadley, based on a 1943 Dorothy Gray ad.

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