It Occurs to Me That I Am America: New Stories and Art

Even if this were not a collection of great short stories and art, this volume is well worth having because it is a fund raiser for the ACLU. All of the artists contributed to this cause. At this critical time in American history, when debate once again is what makes America great, this volume goes a long way to settling that debate on the side of immigrants, diversity, and the contribution that art makes to understanding our stories. Writers such as Joyce Carol Oates, Mary Higgins Clark, Alice Hoffman, and fifty others have contributed. Thus, it is well worth reading. That being said, as wonderful as the artwork is, it is also disruptive to the story telling as it is not integrated or placed in any context that was discernible to me.

Anthologies are always interesting in that a reader may discover new writers who were previously unfamiliar. Such is the case with Mark Di Ionno whose story “Intersections” is a masterful retelling of a fateful accident. This is a great collection of stories.