HAD I A HUNDRED MOUTHS gathers his greatest early stories with stories written shortly before his death from leukemia in 1983. There are unforgettable tales here, mixtures of realism and fantasy,the gothic and the quotidian, that nearly make Goyen a twentieth century Hawthorne. Among the best of the later pieces are "Arthur Bond", a story of obsession, and "Precious Door," in which man struggles against nature and himself. "White Rooster" is perhaps the best known of his early stories, another tale of obsession, madness, and willfulness, and other gems from the same period include "Rhody's Path", in which Goyen's ubiquitous theme of restlessness and searching for one's place in the world is given poignant expression, and "The Grasshopper's Burden", which I read as an allegory of the misunderstood artist trying to make his way in an indifferent or even hostile world.

Goyen's themes are often dark, but he leavens the heaviness with humor and a masterful use of Southern/Southwestern vernacular.

Goyen toiled in near-obscurity for many years. His lyricism, humor, and insights into love and loneliness entitle him to wider recognition and readership.