In this second installment of "The Anchor Essay Annual series, acclaimed essayist Phillip Lopate has selected and introduced the year's most notable, influential, or surprising essays published during the last twelve months. Including material from periodicals and books, "The Anchor Essay Annual 1998 also features essays that have never before appeared in print and those published only abroad. The result is as cosmopolitan as it is unique. Included in the 1998 Annual are: Lucy Grealy's reasoned path to belief in "My God," David Lazar's fierce reappraisal of a young man's wish to blend into goyische America in "Further Father," Mary Oliver's rumination on connectedness to the world in "Sister Turtle," and Jane Shapiro's magnificent dialogue on the afterlife of the divorced woman in "This Is What You Need for a Happy Life." All of this exciting new work is placed in context by an illuminating, in-depth introduction from Phillip Lopate, himself one of our most acclaimed essayists. With generous selections from over twenty-five writers from around the world, "The Anchor Essay Annual: The Best of 1998 continues to build on Anchor's most exciting new series.