Leslie Norris' stories are among the OP treasures of modern short story writing. His fiction is one of epiphany and celebration. It charts the personal discoveries, small and large, which shape the growth of character and the intimate relationships between people, and also explores how nature impinges on humanity. Indeed, in Norris' world, objects are almost as important as people: they are richly described catalysts of human action and changed directions. Place and nature – hills, lakes, rivers, towns, animals – have the same weight as the characters who act out their lives against the background of a huge universe. These are stories set in a recognisable world which can slip into the visionary.
This Collected Stories brings together two previous volumes, The Girl from Cardigan and Sliding (winner of the David Higham Prize) and adds uncollected work. Beautifully crafted and observed, sensitively executed, Leslie Norris' stories reflect his skills as a poet and have attracted much admiration.
"Each story is a gem, full of wise understanding of human experience, and deeply moving."
PN Review
"One of the mightiest poets and fiction writers of the twentieth century... a superb Collected Stories."
Richard Simpson, Tar River Poetry
"So lyrical, so larky, that almost unconsciously, one starts to read them aloud to an empty room."
Sunday Times
"Stories of such artistry that one is inclined to reread them immediately to savour the moments they capture."
Publishers' Weekly
Leslie Norris (1921-2006) was born in Merthyr Tydfil, south Wales. Formerly a teacher and headmaster, he taught literature and creative writing for many years at a variety of American universities, most recently Brigham Young, Utah, where he was Christiansen Professor of Poetry. His Complete Poems is also published by Seren.