Pillars of American literature, these two newly repackaged titles have been loved and admired by readers for decades. Set during the Depression, "Yonnondio: "From The Thirties is the timeless and hauntingly timely story of the Holbrook family, struggling for a more tolerable existence. Written by the author in the 1930s and rediscovered by her in the 1970s, "Yonnondio will always be an unfinished work that makes us long for more of that young author's brilliance. This reissue presents newly discovered fragments and scenes that satisfy some of that longing and give a more complete picture of the fate of the mother, Anna, one of literature's most believable and enduring woman. "Tell Me A Riddle is a collection of four stories: "I Stand Here Ironing," "Hey Sailor, What Ship?," "O Yes," and the title novella, which won the O. Henry Award in 1961. Anthologized over a hundred times, the stories live on in the hearts of readers everywhere. John Leonard provides a new introduction that is a personal reminiscence as well as reaffirmation of Olsen's place in American literature's pantheon of great writers.

A century after her birth, Tillie Olsen's writing is as relevant as when it first appeared; indeed, the clarity and passion of her vision and style have, if anything, become even more striking over time. Collected here for the first time are several of Olsen's nonfiction pieces about the 1930s, early journalism pieces, and short fiction, including the four beautifully crafted, highly celebrated stories originally published as "Tell Me a Riddle" "I Stand Here Ironing," "Hey Sailor, What Ship?," "O Yes," and "Tell Me a Riddle." Also included, for the first time since it appeared in the 1971 Best American Short Stories, is "Requa I."

In these stories, as in all of her work, Olsen set a new standard for the treatment of women and the poor and for the depiction of their lives and circumstances. In her hands, the hard truths about motherhood and marriage, domestic life, labor, and political conviction found expression in language of such poetic intensity and depth that its influence continues to be felt today.

An introduction by Olsen's granddaughter, the poet Rebekah Edwards, and a foreword by her daughter Laurie Olsen provide a personal and generational context for the author's work.

"Tell Me a Riddle" renders an unforgettable portrait of a working-class couple when the gender-determined differences in their experiences of poverty and familial life give rise to bitter conflict after almost four decades of marriage. As she dies of cancer, Eva, the protagonist, recollects a revolutionary past that both critiques and offers hope for the present. Deborah Rosenfelt's introduction and the essays in this volume survey the critical reception of this highly acclaimed story, analyze its biographical and historical contexts, examine the text's language, structure, and spiritual and moral significance, and illuminate Olsen's relationship to the American Midwest, the American left, and the Jewish enlightenment tradition. This casebook includes an introduction by the editor, a chronology of Olsen's life, an authoritative text of "Tell Me a Riddle," relevant essays by Olsen, seven critical essays, and a bibliography. The contributors are Joanne Trautmann Banks, Constance Coiner, Rachel Blau DuPlessis, Mara Faulkner, Elaine Neil Orr, Linda Ray Pratt, and Deborah Silverton Rosenfelt.