A WRITER'S WIT
The more human beings proceed by plan the more effectively they may hit by accident.
Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Born January 5, 1921
A Bit of History
This is the fourth consecutive year that I’ve made a close reading of every story in The New Yorker. Before beginning my first post in this series I decided to read a New Yorker story from the past and removed from my shelf a collection of stories published in the magazine between 1925 to 1940, a used-book-store find I made a number of years ago. I want to share the opening paragraph from a Dorothy Parker story, “Soldiers of the Republic,” from the February 5, 1938 issue:
“That Sunday afternoon we sat with the Swedish girl in the big café in Valencia. We had vermouth in thick goblets, each with a cube of honeycombed gray ice in it. The waiter was so proud of that ice he could hardly bear to leave the glasses on the table, and thus part from it forever. He went to his duty—all over the room they were clapping their hands and hissing to draw his attention—but he looked back over his shoulder” (15).
This opening is quite simple, really, but how much information the author dispenses: day of week and time, setting including the city and country (by inference), the scarcity and kind of ice cubes, the tone, which is established by a slightly elevated diction. Who is telling this story in the first person? we ask ourselves. What’s going to happen? Do we care? The story can’t be more than two thousand words, far shorter than most New Yorker stories published today, but this narrative set in a time of war is dazzling. This literary history is part of the reason why I continue to read every story in the magazine. Will someone dazzle us with his or her word choice, his or her setting, his or her narrative that no one else could have possibly written? I hope so.
It may be that this magazine is the one large-circulation American journal that also distributes the largest number of short stories per year—making it a challenge to any writer to have a story accepted. Each year that I proceed farther into this project the more I appreciate the broad spectrum of fiction being written by writers of English throughout the world. The seven translated stories compel the reader to understand cultural aspects of other cultures, as well. I will continue the practice of posting a profile of the story a week before it hits the stands and then summarizing the year’s fiction at the end of 2015.
The reader can access previous annual posts by going to the side bar and clicking on “January 2011,” “January 2012,” or “ January 2013” and searching for "New Yorker Project."
It may be that this magazine is the one large-circulation American journal that also distributes the largest number of short stories per year—making it a challenge to any writer to have a story accepted. Each year that I proceed farther into this project the more I appreciate the broad spectrum of fiction being written by writers of English throughout the world. The seven translated stories compel the reader to understand cultural aspects of other cultures, as well. I will continue the practice of posting a profile of the story a week before it hits the stands and then summarizing the year’s fiction at the end of 2015.
The reader can access previous annual posts by going to the side bar and clicking on “January 2011,” “January 2012,” or “ January 2013” and searching for "New Yorker Project."
The Stats for 2014
- Average length of a New Yorker story in 2014: 8,870 words
- Change from 2013: +120 words
- Percentage of male authors: 67% (66% including writers with multiple stories)
- Change from 2013: +18% points
- Percentage of female authors: 33% (34% including writers with multiple stories)
- Change from 2013: –2% points
- Average age of a New Yorker fiction author: 52
- Change from 2013: –2 years
- Percentage of lead characters who are male: 68%
- Change from 2013: +11% points
- Number of lead characters who are female: 32%
- Change from 2013: –11% points
- Number of lead characters who are apparently heterosexual: 90%
- Change from 2013: –8% points
- Number of lead characters who are apparently LGBT*: 4%
- Change from 2013: +2% (up from one story to two)
- Percentage of lead characters who are apparently Caucasian: 76%
- Change from 2013: +12% points
- Percentage of lead characters who are apparently “minority” or foreign: 22%
- Change from 2013: –4% points
- Percentage of lead characters who are apparently Jewish or Israeli: 2%
- Change from 2013: –8% points
- Stories that seem to be set in the 1950s: 1
- Stories that seem to be set in the 1960s: 3
- Stories that seem to be set in the 1970s: 4
- Stories that seem to be set in the 1980s: 1
- Stories that seem to be set in the 1990s: 1
- Stories that seem to be set in the 2000s: 2
- Stories that seem to be set in the 2010s: 31
- Stories that seem to be set in the future: 1 (2015)
- Stories set in the United States: 52% — AK-1, AZ-1, CA-7, GA-1, MA-3, MN-1, MS-1, MT-2, NJ-1, NM-3, NY-4, VA-1
- Change from 2013: +15% points
- Percentage of stories set in foreign countries: 30% CHILE-1,ENGLAND-3, FRANCE-1, IRELAND-2, ISRAEL-1, JAPAN-2, NORWAY-1, SOUTH AFRICA-1, SOVIET RUSSIA-1, SPAIN-1, UGANDA-1
- Change from 2013: –19% points
- Percentage of stories in which there is no apparent setting: 14%
- Percentage of stories set in cyberspace/outer space: 4% [new category]
- Percentage of stories set in urban/suburban areas: 70%
- Percentage of stories set in rural/pastoral areas: 16%
- Percentage of stories set in urban and rural areas: 14%
- Authors publishing more than one story: Robert Coover-2, Tessa Hadley-2, Thomas McGuane-2, Haruki Murakami-2, Antonya Nelson-2
- Percentage of authors who appear to use English in a traditional manner: 98%
- Percentage of authors who appear to use English in an experimental manner: 2%
- Percentage of authors who appear to use English both ways: 0
- Percentage of authors who employ the first-person POV: 34% (up 3%)
- Percentage of authors who employ the second-person POV: less than 2%
- Percentage of authors who employ the third-person POV: 64% (down 3% points)
- Percentage of authors who primarily employ the past tense: 86% (down 2% points)
- Percentage of authors who primarily employ the present tense: 14% (up 2% points)
Theme
As in the three previous years, I’ve challenged myself to distill the theme of each story to one word or phrase if I could. I made up my mind quickly—believing that, like selecting a character’s name or looking at Rorschach inkblots—first thoughts are the most honest psychologically (those in bold face were also listed in last year’s themes): ABUSE–2%, ADVENTURE–2%, ALIENATION–6%, COMING-OF-AGE–6%, DEATH–8%, EVANESCENCE OF YOUTH–2%, EVIL–2%, FRIENDSHIP–2%, GREED–2%, INSANITY–2%, LONELINESS–10%, LOSS–10%, LOVE-–10%, MYTHS/TALES–12%, POLITICAL REPRESSION–4%, POST-APOCALYPTIC–2%, RECAPTURING THE PAST–2%, RECONCILIATION/HEALING–6%, REDEMPTION–2%, ROLE OF MAGIC–2%, REVOLUTION–2%, SUPERFICIALITY OF MODERN LIFE–2%, UNRESOLVED CHILDHOOD–2%
Unlike the last three years, in which I was fairly certain what a New Yorker story is supposed to be—urbane, sophisticated, yet accessible—this year I’m not so sure. The editorial staff selected a broad range of stories, some of which were not that urbane or that sophisticated. Themes seemed to be quite varied. One isn’t quite sure where The New Yorker short story is headed. More younger writers? Writers from more diverse backgrounds? More or fewer translations? Stretching the genre? Only 2015 will tell.
Unlike the last three years, in which I was fairly certain what a New Yorker story is supposed to be—urbane, sophisticated, yet accessible—this year I’m not so sure. The editorial staff selected a broad range of stories, some of which were not that urbane or that sophisticated. Themes seemed to be quite varied. One isn’t quite sure where The New Yorker short story is headed. More younger writers? Writers from more diverse backgrounds? More or fewer translations? Stretching the genre? Only 2015 will tell.
Bad Circulation?
The gods at Circulation must have heard me cursing last year (and the year before). Many more of my hard copies have arrived before the cover date than those that have not (again, two failed to make it to my door at all). My digital copy arrives each week without fail on a Sunday night while reading in bed! I heap great thanks upon the Digital Gods for this advantage; also being able to access every issue at the magazine's archives. Truly a gift in exchange for a measly subscription price.
In the next three days I shall set up links to my profiles of all fifty-one stories found in the 2014 issues and rank them in three categories: Tuesday, Crème de La Crème (1-20); Wednesday, The Big Middle (21-39); and Thursday, The Stories I Least Liked and Why (40-50). I urge you to peruse my profiles, but most of all, the stories.
NEXT TIME: The New Yorker Project 4, Crème de La Crème
NEXT TIME: The New Yorker Project 4, Crème de La Crème
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