Charles Baxter's short fiction: the first stories

Started latest book from old friend Charles (Charlie) Baxter, "Gryphon," last night, a selection of stories from across his long and glorious career, about half the stories in the selection from his three or four collections, dating back to the 70s, and the remaining are from the past 10 years or so, I think, and to date uncollected. Some of these I've read before; most, not. Started last night with the first three, which are from his earliest collection, ca 1985, originally from U. of Missouri Press, later picked up by Vintage (amazing how hard it is for commercial publishers to recognize great talent and promise, until others have recognized it for them). The first three stories share Baxter's special sensibility and style: a kind of flat and unaffected dialog, a bit in the tradition of Raymond Carver, who reigned supreme in the 80s, but with a bit more quirkiness and humor - the characters talking at cross-purposes and not truly understanding one another. The first, The Would-be Father, introduces elements that will be in many other Baxter stories and novels: the unexpected, tragic death from car accident of a young couple, an older person who's on the verge of delusion or dementia (2nd story about a 52nd anniversary non-celebration picks this up as well), the sensitivity to the flat, rural Midwestern landscape. The 3rd story, Harmony of the World, told in first person - making me wonder about why first-person narratives are easiest to read, more on that in another post - shows Baxter's wide-ranging intelligence and curiosity, about a failed musical prodigy who links, unhappily, with a troubled young woman who believes she can perform as a classical singer. Baxter incorporates lots of info about music, performance, and rather obscure musicians, but characteristically he does so very deftly, it doesn't feel pedantic or boastful but like a pleasant and accurate emanation of thought and knowledge from the narrator himself.