Many readers imagine Gavin Stevens as the character most similar to William Faulkner in all of his apocryphal Yoknapatawpha, and while Stevens was once considered the most reliable Faulknerian spokesp
Chandarlapaty (composition and literature, Southern U, New Orleans) explores the literary and cultural contribution of the Beat Generation by focusing on the life and works of Paul Bowles, William S.
Straight (English, Utah State U.-Brigham City) contributes to the growing scholarship on autobiography by looking for a central focus for reading the genre and a set of organizing principles that are
This study examines the Beat Movement's strong desire for a reconnection with nature. Although each took a different path in pursuing this goal, the writers considered here sought a new and closer re
Focuses on the American writer's development of child characters, including Joe Christmas, Quentin Compson, Thomas Sutpen, and Isaac McCaslin in childhood and adolescence. Draws on the Bildungrsroman
Booker examines the work of American playwrights Lillian Hellman and August Wilson. Although different and seemingly unconnected, both dramatists rewrite history to reflect their political activism wh
American Realist Fictions of Marriage: From Kate Chopin, Edith Wharton to Frances Harper, Pauline Hopkins intervenes in the field of American literary realism by arguing that selected marriage fiction
Discusses the ways in which John Gardner's work was influenced by his cancer, the death of his brother, and the ideas of Susanne Langer and Alfred North Whitehead, particularly the latter's concept of
Polley (American literature and culture, Kong Kong Baptist U.) explains in his introductory chapter (titled "Ends and Odds") that "American culture obsesses over public mediations of justice. American
Playing with Expectations: Postmodern Narrative Choices and the African American Novel explores a merging of works by African American novelists to promote critical acceptance of postmodern literature
The blues aesthetic as formulated by Ralph Ellison and Albert Murray holds that the African-American vernacular tradition, with blues music at its core, has had an unparalleled impact on the whole of
June (English literature and criticism, Paine College, Atlanta, Georgia) explores how fragmentation has defined women's position in the US, and how recent, multi-ethnic American women authors have emb
Smith (mythological studies, Pacifica Graduate Institute) presents five mini-studies of stories by Thomas Pynchon that tease out what Smith terms "necrotypes," archetypes catalyzed by a trip or connec
Hussman (emeritus, English, Wright State U.) in essence catalogs all of the desire and disillusion found in the writings of leaders of American fiction since 1890. Included are Frank Norris, Kate Chop
