Les Standiford, Florida International University
We have here a significant achievement... a moving tribute to the power of language and to a rare place in the geography of the American Consciousness - a very special confluence of geography, climate, and culture coalesced into language working at its hioghest levels.


Island Life
The Key West Reader is a spectacular collection... So many diverse writers sharing one thing in common, the Island of Key West, where each, in his or her own way, left their mark. It is consistently readable and a constant source of fascination that this tiny island city could be the source of so many fine pieces opf writing... Particularly notable is the rare essay "Who Killed the Vets," Ernest Hemingway's first-hand account of the 1935 hurricane (still the strongest in recorded history) which washed out Henry Flagler's Overseas Railroad and killed thousands.


Book Description
Over the past century, the island city of Key West has been home to many Pulitzer Prize Winners and other esteemed writers: Erenest Hemingway, Tennesse Williams, John Hersey, Tom McGuane, Phil Caputo, James Merrill, Elizabeth Bishop, Richard Wilbur, and Hunter S. Thompson, to name just a few. Here, for the first time, an anthology which celebrates the literary heritage of Key West: the island seen through the eyes of twenty-five of its most renowned writers.


About the Author
George Murphy for many years edited Tendril, a literary magazine. His other books include Rounding Ballast Key, The Poet's Choice: 100 American Poets Favorite Poems, The Editor's Choice: Best American Short Stories (Vols I-IV, Bantam), and (with Paul Mariani) Poetics: Essays on the Art of Poetry. He has been the recipient of Fellowshipsfrom Yaddo and Bread Loaf and was awarded the first Shaw Award from Boston College for Outstanding Contributions to American Literature.