Pricksongs & Descants

short-story collection by Coover

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July 19, 2026

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Pricksongs & Descants is a 1969 short-story collection by American writer Robert Coover. The collection is noted for its experimental and avant-garde style, blending reality and illusion to create surreal situations. The title itself combines "pricksong," an obsolete term for written music or descant, with "descant," a contrapuntal melody. This suggests a focus on form and structure within the narratives. Coover's work often challenges conventional storytelling, influencing a generation of postmodern writers. The collection established him as a significant voice in postwar American literature.12

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Robert Coover
Books
Coover’s short-story collection Pricksongs & Descants (1969) established him as a major figure in postwar American writing, and several of his stories were adapted for theatrical performance, including “The Babysitter” (film 1995), which is his most-anthologized work, and “Spanking the Maid.” In 2002 he published The Grand Hotels…
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Coover’s short-story collection Pricksongs & Descants (1969) established him as a major figure in postwar American writing, and several of his stories were adapted for theatrical performance, including “The Babysitter” (film 1995), which is his most-anthologized work, and “Spanking the Maid.” In 2002 he published The Grand Hotels…
Read More