The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature: 4-Volume Set

Author: Parini Jay

Brand: Oxford University Press, USA

Number Of Pages: 2280

Details: Product Description

The Encyclopedia of American Literature gathers together 350 essays from over 190 leading scholars on the whole of American literature, from European discovery to the present. At the core of the Encyclopedia lie 250 essays on poets, playwrights, essayists, and novelists. Figures such as Whitman, Melville, Faulkner, Frost, and Morrison are discussed in detail with each examined in the context of his or her times, an assessment of the writer’s current reputation, a bibliography of major works, and a list of major critical and biographical works about the writer.

Fifty entries on major works such as Moby Dick, Song of Myself, Walden, The Great Gatsby, The Waste Land, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Death of a Salesman, and Beloved place the work in its historical context and offer a range of possibilities with regard to critical approach. The Encyclopedia also contains essays on literary movements, periods, and themes, pulling together a broad range of information and making connections between them.

Each entry has its own primary and annotated secondary bibliography, and a system of cross-references helps readers locate information with ease. The Encyclopedia of American Literature is an outstanding reference source for students studying authors, or particular pieces of literature; libraries looking for one comprehensive source; and readers interested in American literature, its authors, and its connection with various areas of study.

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up-These 350 essays on writers and movements from the 1600s to the present illuminate the richness of American literature. Each writer entry (representing a diverse array of mostly 20th-century novelists, poets, short-story writers, playwrights, and essayists) provides biographical information along with historical perspectives and social context, analysis of long-term literary impact, and a list of works and suggestions for further reading. Longer essays, such as the 10-page article on Stephen Crane, provide criticism on selected works and may be followed by one of the 45 “master works” essays on a notable title, e.g., a five-page critical analysis dedicated to Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage. Most entries include a portrait. The 50-plus essays on themes and movements (“Academic Novels” to “Writing as a Woman in the Twentieth Century”) provide genre overviews. Volume one includes a comprehensive list of articles, a chronology that highlights historical parallels to literary works and authors, and a topical outline. An essential cumulative index appears in volume four. As in any limited collection of notables, second guessers will inevitably question the inclusion of some writers, works, and movements over others (why not an essay on humor?). More accessible than the chronological Encyclopedia of American Literature (Facts On File, 2002), and more concise than the “American Writers” literary biography series (Scribners), Oxford provides a wealth of reliable information on standard bearers of American literature in an easy-on-the-eyes format for students and general readers.-Mary Ann Carcich, Hampton Bays Public Library, NY
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From Booklist

This encyclopedia brings together 350 signed, alphabetically arranged essays on American literature from the colonial period to the present. The essays, although written by scholars for a general readership, vary in both length (between 2 and 14 pages) and sophistication (some are appropriate only for the undergraduate level and above). The majority of well-known American authors in the canon are surveyed here, including favorites such as Faulkner, Frost, Hawthorne, Melville, Salinger, and Whitman. Author essays discuss both biographical and critical aspects of the writer and include a bibliography of major works, followed by a list of briefly annotated secondary sources. Forty-five of the entries are critical re

Release Date: 29-01-2004

Package Dimensions: 175x305x6486