A Fine Excess: Contemporary Literature at Play

This unusual collection of 36 writings is unlike most anthologies of mixed genres; its common element, claim editors Gann and Herbert--themselves writers--is a sense of ""play,"" by which they do not mean ""merely lighthearted, whimsical riffs,"" but rather works by ""writers who show creative delight, who explore the possibilities within the compound sentence, within composed phrases."" The editors are not opposed to what Tom Wolfe calls ""K-Mart Realism,"" they are simply on to something else--and although their selections may seem curious, there is much here to enjoy. Pieces by such well-known writers as e.e. cummings, William Gass and Edmund White are included, along with those by newer names such as Valerie Wohlfeld and Connie Voisine. Poetry, short fiction, essays and other writings that defy easy labeling, such as Lynn Emanuel's ""Who Is She Kidding,"" appear without following any pattern. Overall, the short fiction is especially memorable. In ""Give the Millionaire a Drink,"" Mike Newirth, without using the conventions of plot and character, captures the aimlessness and emotional underdevelopment of the very rich partying in East Hampton. Rick Moody demonstrates his eye for plaintive eccentricity and surrealism in ""The Mansion on the Hill,"" about a poor soul working for a wedding banquet hall. And Peter La Salle's ""The Latin Ice Kings"" is an energetic, free-associative, first-person narrative by a ""pasty-faced Anglo"" underachiever playing street hockey in Texas with the Mexicans, reflecting on crack, his girlfriend and Martha Stewart. (Jan.) Forecast: This miscellany will appeal only to the literarily adventurous--a small but discrete market.