Book excerpt: Fiction and essay anthology. Women's Studies. In this anthology culled from twenty-two years of award-winningCALYX: A Journal of Art and Literature By Women, a long line of writers share their visions of the worlds women create. "What an extraordinary collection of worthwhile writing, brave in many cases, beautiful in almost all. A book to sit down with. I was able to remember my first reading of some of these stories -- many of them first publications -- and relive the excitement!" -- Grace Paley. "Anyone who still doubts the existence of a multicultural 'women's culture' will be forever changed by this book -- and will have enjoyed a fine read in the bargain" -- Robin Morgan. "Thirty-seven stories, drawn from two decades worth of issues ofCALYX: A Journal of Art and Literature By Women, demonstrate both how important a role the journal has played in providing a venue for both unknown and well-established writers, and how sharp its editorial eyes have been. There are superb tales here by such familiar figures as Julia Alvarez (the affecting ``Now World'), Linda Hogan (``Crow'), and Alicia Ostriker (``Esther, or The World Turned Upside Down'), as well as stunning work by less well-known writers, including M. Evelina Galang's Her Wild American Self and Hollis Seamon's Gypsies in the Place of Pain. The volume takes its title from a fierce, sad tale by Rita Marie Nibasa, about the ways in which love and violence often mingle. Because the stories are by women from a number of cultures, and because the tales embrace so many kinds of narrative views (from the grimly documentary to magic realism), the collection provides a useful overview of the large, diverse, often angry and usually vital work being produced by a new, and markedly varied, generation of women writers. First-rate short fiction."-Kirkus