Literary Criticism : American

From slave narratives to the Civil War, and from country music to Southern sport, this Companion is the definitive guide to the literature and culture of the American South. Consisting of over 30 original contributions, each of them written by an acknowledged authority in their field, the Companion reveals the diversity of the Southern region, as expressed in different forms of thought, work, and imaginative play. The first major section, concentrating on themes and issues, looks at the distinctive cultural characteristics of the American South and includes discussion of the visual arts, music, society, history and politics. The second focuses on writers who have made significant contributions to Southern thinking and the imaginative reinvention of the South. These include Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, William Faulkner, Zora Neale Hurston, Flannery O'Connor and Eudora Welty, and range from the earliest writers in the region to all those - black and white, male and female - who are writing now. more...

Price: $151.95

ONE of Allen Tate's recent essays, "A Southern Mode of the Imagination," mentions an amiable old calumny against Kentucky: that it seceded from the Union after the fighting was over. Lincoln had promised not to disturb the institution of slavery in Kentucky if Kentucky stayed in the Union, and the promise was kept... more...

Price: $36.00

Even the most devoted readers of nineteenth-century American literature often assume that the men and women behind the masterpieces were as dull and staid as the era's static daguerreotypes. Susan Cheever's latest work, however, brings new life to the well-known literary personages who produced such cherished works as The Scarlet Letter, Moby-Dick, Walden, and Little Women. Rendering in full color the tumultuous, often scandalous lives of these volatile and vulnerable geniuses, Cheever's dynamic narrative reminds us that, while these literary heroes now seem secure of their spots in the canon, they were once considered avant-garde, bohemian types, at odds with the establishment. more...

Price: $17.99

This introduction to American literature and culture from 1900 to 1960 is organized around four major ideas about America: that is it “big”, “new”, “rich”, and “free”.:.; Illustrates the artistic and social climate in the USA during this period.; Juxtaposes discussion of history, popular culture, literature and other art forms in ways that foster discussion, questioning, and continued study.; An appendix lists relevant primary and secondary works, including websites.; An ideal supplement to primary texts taught in American literature courses. more...

Price: $100.00

Drawing on feminist and Foucauldian theory, Quinby offers a powerful critique of the millenarian rhetoric that pervades American culture. Tracing the deployment of power through systems of alliance, sexuality, and technology, the author promotes a variety of critical stances—genealogical feminism, an ethics of the flesh, and “pissed criticism”—as challenges to apocalyptic claims for absolute truth and universal morality. more...

Price: $60.00