I owe Bobbie Ann Mason a big apology.

In my defense, I can only recall being required to read 2 novels in 12 long years of public schooling, neither of them by Kentuckians. I read more, but, left to my own devices I reached the age of 16 well-versed only in men's action novels and British science fiction.

Under the painful misconception that Kentucky's best offerings to the world at large were bourbon and racehorses, I committed a horrendous literary faux-pas that summer--I parked in the front row of a lecture hall at Murray State University and slept while Bobbie Ann Mason gave what, for all I now know, was the best talk of her life.

I'm sure she paid no attention to a cheeky teenager in a crowded auditorium, but in the years since then I have come to realize what a phenomenal writer she is, and I am now terrifically embarrassed. My wife, whom I also first encountered that summer, tried to tell me. I wish I had listened to both of them.

Luckily for the current crop of teenagers (and anyone else interested in Kentucky's contribution to letters), Lindsey Wilson's Morris Grubbs has edited a new anthology of Kentucky short stories, "Home and Beyond," that might well spare them a similar fate.

Grubbs focuses on the interesting push/pull relationship so many native writers have with Kentucky, and he presents the stories in chronological order. It's a smart choice that grants exposure to the established greats of Kentucky literature, with stories from Warren, Still, Stuart, and Berry, among others, and interesting pieces from best-sellers Janice Holt Giles and Barbara Kingsolver, but leaves plenty of room to explore a very exciting new crop of award-winning Kentucky writers.

The collection includes a great short story from Ms. Mason, "Residents and Transients," that involves at least 9 cats and showcases her easy wit and fluid storytelling. Also included is "Maxine," the last of Gurney Norman's poignant "Kinfolk" series, and "The Little-Known Bird of the Inner Eye," an early piece from Ed McClanahan that contrasts interestingly with his better-known later works.

You can get "Home and Beyond" later this summer from the University Press of Kentucky, and if you see Ms. Mason, tell her I'm sorry.