Librarians take the lead

 kw: story reviews, fiction, poems, short stories, collections

I have read another 23 selections, and skipped one, in 2026 Pushcart Prize: Best of the Small Presses, 50th Anniversary Edition, edited by Bill Henderson and other editors. In a similar way to the review a few days ago, I will just show the short impression I wrote as I read each piece, but this time only for the 17 that were at least so-so. I have more to say about the single story (so far) that earned a "++" from me.

First, the list:

• "Yellow Tulips" by Nathan Curtis Roberts. disability, seen and hidden
• "Countdown" by Anthony Marra. conscripted at the border [between Russia and Georgia]
• "An Essay About Coyotes" by Ryan Van Meter. grief and healing
• "One of You Will Betray Me" by Kathy Chao. parents have to grow up too
• "Hover O'er Me With Your Wings" by Randy F. Nelson. turning points
• "Lords of the Wind" by Yxta Maya Murray. religious naturalism
• "Steeplechase by Angela Ball (poem). variety, even in steeples
• "How No Money Becomes Money" by Andrei Codrescu. vanity of destructive fashion
• "The Widow's Tale" by Richard Bausch. unwelcome séance
• "Is Wrack, Is Rak, Is Wreckage" by Allison Hutchcraft (poem). wrack on rock
• "The Department of Everything" by Stephen Akey. libriarianship! [see below]
• "Devotion" by Michael Mark (poem). purposeful vandalism
• "Thebes, Revisited" by Grace Schulman. town stage production
• "Sickled" by Jane Kalu. disease of body and soul
• "The Weight of Days" by Dorianne Laux (poem). stretched metaphors
• "Easement" by Kim Samek. scams take over
• "Ode to Darnel (Ode to the Crocus)" by Carey Salerno (poem). hospital memories

In "The Department of Everything", Stephen Akey fondly remembers when we could call the reference desk of a public library and get almost any kind of question answered…so long as it was a question of fact. A librarian might have offered advice on more ambiguous matters such as relationships, but at the risk of the supervising librarian's wrath. Also, even if a librarian already knew the answer, he or she needed to also provide the reference, which typically required going to get the physical book or index or journal for the citation. A reference desk librarian didn't need to know everything, just where to find everything. Now for factual information we just use Wikipedia, or Google, or more recently, we ask a chatbot. Note that these are in descending order by reliability.