american literature

Presents alphabetized profiles of ninety twentieth-century American writers of fiction, nonfiction, drama, poetry, and song lyrics, describing their lives, careers, major works, and creative inspirations and providing select bibliographies, lists of further resources, photos, and full-color artwork.

Presents an overview of the literary movement known as American realism, and features fifteen critical articles that offer a definition of realism, and discuss the rise of naturalism, class, race, and gender in American realism; national character in American realism; and realism after 1914.

Discusses the life of American author J.D. Salinger and the historical context, plot, characters, and themes of his novel "The Catcher in the Rye"; also includes ideas for research, excerpts of criticism, and a chronology.

An introduction to Harper Lee's famous novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird," discussing the author's life, the historical context of the novel, its plot, themes, characters, literary criticism, and pertinence for today's audiences.

A compendium of words and images by and about writers and artists of America's Beat Generation, including William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Hunter S. Thompson, and Jack Kerouac.

Presents a literary analysis of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," and features a variety of primary historical documents and commentary that offer insight into the context in which the novel was written.

A collection of critical articles that analyze the important literary works of the American romanticism era.

A collection of stories, poems, and memoir selections of new work from the last ten to twenty years including multiracial and multiethnic writings.

A collection of women's writing spanning four centuries, which includes short stories, poems, diaries, and plays, each preceded by a short discussion of the author and her work.