 " The Open Boat " is one of the most frequently discussed works in Crane 's canon , and is regularly anthologized . Wilson Follett included the story in the twelfth volume of his 1927 collection of Crane 's work , and it also appeared in Robert Stallman 's 1952 volume Stephen Crane : An Omnibus . The story and its subsequent eponymous collections received high acclaim from contemporary critics and authors . Praising the merit of the story and his friend 's literary importance , journalist Harold Frederic wrote in his review for The New York Times that " even if he had written nothing else , [ " The Open Boat " would ] have placed [ Crane ] where he now undoubtedly stands . " English poet Robert Bridges likewise praised the story in his review for Life , stating that Crane " has indelibly fixed the experience on your mind , and that is the test of a literary artisan " . American Newspaperman and author Harry Esty Dounce praised the story as chief among Crane 's work , despite its seemingly simple plot , writing for the New York Evening Sun that " those who have read ' The Open Boat ' will forget every technical feat of construction before they forget the long , heartbreaking mockery of the day , with land so near , the bailing , the egg @-@ shell changes of seats , the terrible , steady cheerfulness and brotherhood of the queer little human group " . 
