BANR

In the last couple years, Best American Non Required Reading has surpassed Best American Short Stories in selecting fascinating things to read. I would recommend it to anyone. Instead of being selected by some icon in the literary community, these pieces are selected by a small bunch of high school kids who try and read just about anything out there in print. They find some absolutely amazing stuff.

The 2006 edition has everything from best fake Onion headlines to best military blog to a commencement speech to an essay about returning to New Orleans after Katrina to a piece of propoganda written by an American think tank for publication in Iraqi papers.

Somehow, they seem to have known enough to include Kurt Vonnegut in this collection. He writes a piece called, Here is a Lesson in Creative Writing.

"First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college."

Another great quote from this piece, "Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enourmous reward. You will have created something."