The Best Short Stories of Leonard Michaels

"City Boy" and the Early Short Fiction of Leonard Michaels

Oct 5, 2009

Leonard Michaels was an unsung hero of the short story form. His early short fiction has had a significant influence on writers of contemporary literature and stories.

Leonard Michaels (1933-2003) never reached a terrifically large audience, even by literary standards. His best short stories (the early ones, especially) continue to drift around writer’s workshops, clung to with cultish fervor; but—though certainly worthy—they never surface in any popular anthologies.

Michaels often bore the (somewhat backhanded) compliment of being a “writer’s writer”—meaning he explored stylistic frontiers which resist a casual read, but give tremendous satisfaction to anyone adventurous enough to follow into the thick of his literature.

Leonard Michaels' Early Style and Short Stories

In Michaels' early short fiction, lyricism, rhythm, and psychology always outweigh the coherence and integrity of a traditional narrative arc—ruminations precede discernible action, the phrase becomes far more important than its own meaning. Still, there is an incredible immediacy and propulsion to Michaels’ early short stories. The pace is often breakneck, and bodies are continually in motion. His literary philosophy is kinetic, almost musical.

Leonard’s early stories are reminiscent of Richard Fariña’s famous novel Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me. The boundaries of realism are bent to their breaking point. The narrators are mostly male, brash, rebellious, revelling in self-destruction, operating under a philosophy of the pure divorce of action and consequence. The result is thrilling and vital. The thrust and poeticism of Leonard’s stylistic acrobatics barely cling to the page.

Best of the Early Literature: "City Boy" and "Sticks and Stones"

Two of Michaels' best short stories that typify his explosive style are "City Boy" and "Sticks and Stones." The stories are perhaps vaguely interrelated, and explore, through outrageous turns, the tumults of courtship. Both are at once aggressively hilarious and honest.

A sample: “Veronica, let me step on your head or we’re through. Maybe we’re through, anyway. It would deepen her looks, give philosophy to what was only charming in her face.” (From "City Boy").

Or: “His glance became fine, blue as the filament of smoke sliding upward and swaying to breezes no more visible, and vastly less subtle, than the myriad, shifting discriminations that gave sense and value to his answer.” (From "Sticks and Stones").

Further Short Story Reading

Michaels in no way peaked early in his career; his later short stories demonstrate an impressively matured, subdued sensibility. But for a sucker punch to your literary sensibilities, find Michael’s 1969 debut collection, Going Places. It may be difficult to get your hands on (it's also collected, in full, in The Collected Stories), but its second short story, “City Boy,” is one of the finest in contemporary American short fiction.

The copyright of the article The Best Short Stories of Leonard Michaels in Modern American Fiction is owned by William Litton. Permission to republish The Best Short Stories of Leonard Michaels in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.