Mary Moody Emerson and the Origins of Transcendentalism

Mary Moody Emerson and the Origins of Transcendentalism

Author: Phyllis Cole

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13: 9780195152005

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Mary Moody Emerson has long been a New England legend, the "eccentric Calvinist aunt" of Ralph Waldo Emerson, wearing a death-shroud as her daily garment. This exciting new study, based on the first reading of all her known letters and diaries, reveals a complex human voice and powerful forerunner of American Transcendentalism. From the years of her famous nephew's infancy, in both private and published writings, she celebrated independence, solitude in nature, and inward communion with God. Mary Moody Emerson inherited both resources and constraints from her family, a lineage of Massachusetts ministers who had earlier practiced spiritual awakening and political resistance against England. Cole discovers a previously unexamined Emerson tradition of fervent piety in the ancestors' own writing and Mary's preservation of their memory. She also examines the position of a woman in this patriarchal family. Barred from the pulpit and university by her sex, she also refused marriage to become a reader, writer, and religious seeker. Cole's biography explores this reading and writing as both a woman's vocation and a gift to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Helping to raise her nephews after their father's death, Mary Moody Emerson urged Waldo the college student to seek solitude in nature and become a divine poet. Cole's pioneering study, tracing crucial lines of influence from Mary Emerson's heretofore unknown texts to her nephew's major works, establishes a fresh and vital source for a central American literary tradition.


Book Synopsis Mary Moody Emerson and the Origins of Transcendentalism by : Phyllis Cole

Download or read book Mary Moody Emerson and the Origins of Transcendentalism written by Phyllis Cole and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2002 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mary Moody Emerson has long been a New England legend, the "eccentric Calvinist aunt" of Ralph Waldo Emerson, wearing a death-shroud as her daily garment. This exciting new study, based on the first reading of all her known letters and diaries, reveals a complex human voice and powerful forerunner of American Transcendentalism. From the years of her famous nephew's infancy, in both private and published writings, she celebrated independence, solitude in nature, and inward communion with God. Mary Moody Emerson inherited both resources and constraints from her family, a lineage of Massachusetts ministers who had earlier practiced spiritual awakening and political resistance against England. Cole discovers a previously unexamined Emerson tradition of fervent piety in the ancestors' own writing and Mary's preservation of their memory. She also examines the position of a woman in this patriarchal family. Barred from the pulpit and university by her sex, she also refused marriage to become a reader, writer, and religious seeker. Cole's biography explores this reading and writing as both a woman's vocation and a gift to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Helping to raise her nephews after their father's death, Mary Moody Emerson urged Waldo the college student to seek solitude in nature and become a divine poet. Cole's pioneering study, tracing crucial lines of influence from Mary Emerson's heretofore unknown texts to her nephew's major works, establishes a fresh and vital source for a central American literary tradition.

Mary Moody Emerson and the Origins of Transcendentalism

Mary Moody Emerson and the Origins of Transcendentalism

Author: Phyllis Cole

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 0195039491

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The "eccentric Calvinist aunt" of 19th-century intellectual Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mary Moody Emerson has long been a New England legend. Barred from the pulpit and university by her sex, she refused marriage to become a reader, writer, and religious seeker. This exciting new study, based on her known letters and diaries, reveals a complex human voice and powerful forerunner of American Transcendentalism. Photos.


Book Synopsis Mary Moody Emerson and the Origins of Transcendentalism by : Phyllis Cole

Download or read book Mary Moody Emerson and the Origins of Transcendentalism written by Phyllis Cole and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1998 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The "eccentric Calvinist aunt" of 19th-century intellectual Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mary Moody Emerson has long been a New England legend. Barred from the pulpit and university by her sex, she refused marriage to become a reader, writer, and religious seeker. This exciting new study, based on her known letters and diaries, reveals a complex human voice and powerful forerunner of American Transcendentalism. Photos.

Toward a Female Genealogy of Transcendentalism

Toward a Female Genealogy of Transcendentalism

Author: Jana L. Argersinger

Publisher: University of Georgia Press

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 513

ISBN-13: 0820346772

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The first large-scale, collaborative study of women's voices and their vital role in the American transcendentalist movement. Many of its seventeen distinguished scholars work from newly recovered archives, and all offer fresh readings of understudied topics and texts, shedding light on female contributions.


Book Synopsis Toward a Female Genealogy of Transcendentalism by : Jana L. Argersinger

Download or read book Toward a Female Genealogy of Transcendentalism written by Jana L. Argersinger and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 2014 with total page 513 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first large-scale, collaborative study of women's voices and their vital role in the American transcendentalist movement. Many of its seventeen distinguished scholars work from newly recovered archives, and all offer fresh readings of understudied topics and texts, shedding light on female contributions.

The Selected Letters of Mary Moody Emerson

The Selected Letters of Mary Moody Emerson

Author: Mary Moody Emerson

Publisher: University of Georgia Press

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 692

ISBN-13: 9780820314624

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Scholars have long recognized that Mary Moody Emerson (1774-1863) had a vital influence on the intellectual development of her nephew, Ralph Waldo Emerson, during his most formative years. The extent of that influence--and the quality of Mary Emerson's own mind--are apparent, however, only through her extensive correspondence spanning seventy years. The Selected Letters of Mary Moody Emerson makes available for the first time this important collection of letters within the Emerson family papers and firmly establishes Mary Emerson as a woman of strong and independent mind. Moreover, as Emerson himself realized, his aunt's letters reveal much about the political, social, and religious concerns that dominated her age--the critical period from the American Revolution to the Civil War. Mary Emerson rejoiced in what she called a "period of wonderfull revolutions" and through her correspondence engaged actively in the disputes of the time. During these years the new Constitution was tried and tested, most severely by slavery and the Civil War but also by the War of 1812, the rapid expansion westward, and the increasingly materialistic and capitalistic pursuits of the American people. These letters contain wide references to the people, events, and controversies of the period. They also reveal the impact of changing conditions on an individual woman--a woman of curiosity and self-reliance who sought to define herself in a patriarchal culture. Ralph Waldo Emerson once commented that in her "prime" Mary Emerson was the "best writer in New England". The letter became her art form, and she managed to transform it into a vehicle for free discussion. Her many correspondents--fifty-five in all--included her Emerson nephews William, Waldo, Edward, and Charles, as well as Charles's fiancee, Elizabeth Hoar, and Sarah Alden Bradford Ripley. For this edition, Nancy Simmons has chosen some 333 letters that represent the contours of Mary Emerson's life and thought. A valuable contribution to literary, historical, religious, and feminist scholarship, The Selected Letters of Mary Moody Emerson recovers from the footnotes of literary history a woman of considerable intellectual influence.


Book Synopsis The Selected Letters of Mary Moody Emerson by : Mary Moody Emerson

Download or read book The Selected Letters of Mary Moody Emerson written by Mary Moody Emerson and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 1993 with total page 692 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scholars have long recognized that Mary Moody Emerson (1774-1863) had a vital influence on the intellectual development of her nephew, Ralph Waldo Emerson, during his most formative years. The extent of that influence--and the quality of Mary Emerson's own mind--are apparent, however, only through her extensive correspondence spanning seventy years. The Selected Letters of Mary Moody Emerson makes available for the first time this important collection of letters within the Emerson family papers and firmly establishes Mary Emerson as a woman of strong and independent mind. Moreover, as Emerson himself realized, his aunt's letters reveal much about the political, social, and religious concerns that dominated her age--the critical period from the American Revolution to the Civil War. Mary Emerson rejoiced in what she called a "period of wonderfull revolutions" and through her correspondence engaged actively in the disputes of the time. During these years the new Constitution was tried and tested, most severely by slavery and the Civil War but also by the War of 1812, the rapid expansion westward, and the increasingly materialistic and capitalistic pursuits of the American people. These letters contain wide references to the people, events, and controversies of the period. They also reveal the impact of changing conditions on an individual woman--a woman of curiosity and self-reliance who sought to define herself in a patriarchal culture. Ralph Waldo Emerson once commented that in her "prime" Mary Emerson was the "best writer in New England". The letter became her art form, and she managed to transform it into a vehicle for free discussion. Her many correspondents--fifty-five in all--included her Emerson nephews William, Waldo, Edward, and Charles, as well as Charles's fiancee, Elizabeth Hoar, and Sarah Alden Bradford Ripley. For this edition, Nancy Simmons has chosen some 333 letters that represent the contours of Mary Emerson's life and thought. A valuable contribution to literary, historical, religious, and feminist scholarship, The Selected Letters of Mary Moody Emerson recovers from the footnotes of literary history a woman of considerable intellectual influence.

American Sage

American Sage

Author: Barry M. Andrews

Publisher: UMass + ORM

Published: 2021-09-24

Total Pages: 343

ISBN-13: 1613768834

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“Succeeds in making Emerson’s ideas and recommended spiritual practices accessible. . . . [For] those interested in nineteenth-century American spiritualism.” —Publishers Weekly Even during his lifetime, Ralph Waldo Emerson was called the Sage of Concord, a fitting title for this leader of the American Transcendentalist movement. Everything that Emerson said and wrote directly addressed the conduct of life, and in his view, spiritual truth and understanding were the essence of religion. Unsurprisingly, he sought to rescue spirituality from decay, eschewing dry preaching and rote rituals. Unitarian minister Barry M. Andrews has spent years studying Emerson, finding wisdom and guidance in his teachings and practices, and witnessing how the spiritual lives of others are enriched when they grasp the many meanings in his work. In American Sage, Andrews explores Emerson's writings, including his journals and letters, and makes them accessible to today's spiritual seekers. Written in everyday language and based on scholarship grounded in historical detail, this enlightening book considers the nineteenth-century religious and intellectual crosscurrents that shaped Emerson's worldview to reveal how his spiritual teachings remain timeless and modern, universal and uniquely American. “An ideal companion for readers working through Emerson's essays, a reading group on spirituality, and any number of classroom situations.” —David M. Robinson, author of Emerson and the Conduct of Life: Pragmatism and Ethical Purpose in the Later Work “In a style that is both scholarly and highly readable, Andrews offers an insightful account of Emerson's teachings. . . . demonstrating how his ideas are relevant to readers of today who are poised between faith and unbelief.” —Phyllis Cole, author of Mary Moody Emerson and the Origins of Transcendentalism: A Family History


Book Synopsis American Sage by : Barry M. Andrews

Download or read book American Sage written by Barry M. Andrews and published by UMass + ORM. This book was released on 2021-09-24 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Succeeds in making Emerson’s ideas and recommended spiritual practices accessible. . . . [For] those interested in nineteenth-century American spiritualism.” —Publishers Weekly Even during his lifetime, Ralph Waldo Emerson was called the Sage of Concord, a fitting title for this leader of the American Transcendentalist movement. Everything that Emerson said and wrote directly addressed the conduct of life, and in his view, spiritual truth and understanding were the essence of religion. Unsurprisingly, he sought to rescue spirituality from decay, eschewing dry preaching and rote rituals. Unitarian minister Barry M. Andrews has spent years studying Emerson, finding wisdom and guidance in his teachings and practices, and witnessing how the spiritual lives of others are enriched when they grasp the many meanings in his work. In American Sage, Andrews explores Emerson's writings, including his journals and letters, and makes them accessible to today's spiritual seekers. Written in everyday language and based on scholarship grounded in historical detail, this enlightening book considers the nineteenth-century religious and intellectual crosscurrents that shaped Emerson's worldview to reveal how his spiritual teachings remain timeless and modern, universal and uniquely American. “An ideal companion for readers working through Emerson's essays, a reading group on spirituality, and any number of classroom situations.” —David M. Robinson, author of Emerson and the Conduct of Life: Pragmatism and Ethical Purpose in the Later Work “In a style that is both scholarly and highly readable, Andrews offers an insightful account of Emerson's teachings. . . . demonstrating how his ideas are relevant to readers of today who are poised between faith and unbelief.” —Phyllis Cole, author of Mary Moody Emerson and the Origins of Transcendentalism: A Family History

Mr. Emerson's Revolution

Mr. Emerson's Revolution

Author: Jean McClure Mudge

Publisher: Open Book Publishers

Published: 2015-09-11

Total Pages: 490

ISBN-13: 1783740973

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This volume traces the life, thought and work of Ralph Waldo Emerson, a giant of American intellectual history, whose transforming ideas greatly strengthened the two leading reform issues of his day: abolition and women’s rights. A broad and deep, yet cautious revolutionary, he spoke about a spectrum of inner and outer realities—personal, philosophical, theological and cultural—all of which gave his mid-career turn to political and social issues their immediate and lasting power. This multi-authored study frankly explores Emerson's private prejudices against blacks and women while he also publicly championed their causes. Such a juxtaposition freshly charts the evolution of Emerson's slow but steady application of his early neo-idealism to emancipating blacks and freeing women from social bondage. His shift from philosopher to active reformer had lasting effects not only in America but also abroad. In the U.S. Emerson influenced such diverse figures as Thoreau, Whitman, Dickinson and William James, and in Europe Mickiewicz, Wilde, Kipling, Nietzsche, and Camus, as well as many leading followers in India and Japan. The book includes over 170 illustrations, among them eight custom-made maps of Emerson's haunts and wide-ranging lecture itineraries as well as a new four-part chronology of his life placed alongside both national and international events as well as major inventions. Mr. Emerson's Revolution provides essential reading for students and teachers of American intellectual history, the abolitionist and women’s rights movement―and for anyone interested in the nineteenth-century roots of these seismic social changes.


Book Synopsis Mr. Emerson's Revolution by : Jean McClure Mudge

Download or read book Mr. Emerson's Revolution written by Jean McClure Mudge and published by Open Book Publishers. This book was released on 2015-09-11 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume traces the life, thought and work of Ralph Waldo Emerson, a giant of American intellectual history, whose transforming ideas greatly strengthened the two leading reform issues of his day: abolition and women’s rights. A broad and deep, yet cautious revolutionary, he spoke about a spectrum of inner and outer realities—personal, philosophical, theological and cultural—all of which gave his mid-career turn to political and social issues their immediate and lasting power. This multi-authored study frankly explores Emerson's private prejudices against blacks and women while he also publicly championed their causes. Such a juxtaposition freshly charts the evolution of Emerson's slow but steady application of his early neo-idealism to emancipating blacks and freeing women from social bondage. His shift from philosopher to active reformer had lasting effects not only in America but also abroad. In the U.S. Emerson influenced such diverse figures as Thoreau, Whitman, Dickinson and William James, and in Europe Mickiewicz, Wilde, Kipling, Nietzsche, and Camus, as well as many leading followers in India and Japan. The book includes over 170 illustrations, among them eight custom-made maps of Emerson's haunts and wide-ranging lecture itineraries as well as a new four-part chronology of his life placed alongside both national and international events as well as major inventions. Mr. Emerson's Revolution provides essential reading for students and teachers of American intellectual history, the abolitionist and women’s rights movement―and for anyone interested in the nineteenth-century roots of these seismic social changes.

Emerson

Emerson

Author: Robert D. Richardson Jr.

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2015-04-22

Total Pages: 705

ISBN-13: 0520918371

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Recipient of the Francis Parkman Prize from the Society of American Historians Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of the most important figures in the history of American thought, religion, and literature. The vitality of his writings and the unsettling power of his example continue to influence us more than a hundred years after his death. Now Robert D. Richardson Jr. brings to life an Emerson very different from the old stereotype of the passionless Sage of Concord. Drawing on a vast amount of new material, including correspondence among the Emerson brothers, Richardson gives us a rewarding intellectual biography that is also a portrait of the whole man. These pages present a young suitor, a grief-stricken widower, an affectionate father, and a man with an abiding genius for friendship. The great spokesman for individualism and self-reliance turns out to have been a good neighbor, an activist citizen, a loyal brother. Here is an Emerson who knew how to laugh, who was self-doubting as well as self-reliant, and who became the greatest intellectual adventurer of his age. Richardson has, as much as possible, let Emerson speak for himself through his published works, his many journals and notebooks, his letters, his reported conversations. This is not merely a study of Emerson's writing and his influence on others; it is Emerson's life as he experienced it. We see the failed minister, the struggling writer, the political reformer, the poetic liberator. The Emerson of this book not only influenced Thoreau, Fuller, Whitman, Dickinson, and Frost, he also inspired Nietzsche, William James, Baudelaire, Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf, and Jorge Luis Borges. Emerson's timeliness is persistent and striking: his insistence that literature and science are not separate cultures, his emphasis on the worth of every individual, his respect for nature. Richardson gives careful attention to the enormous range of Emerson's readings—from Persian poets to George Sand—and to his many friendships and personal encounters—from Mary Moody Emerson to the Cherokee chiefs in Boston—evoking both the man and the times in which he lived. Throughout this book, Emerson's unquenchable vitality reaches across the decades, and his hold on us endures.


Book Synopsis Emerson by : Robert D. Richardson Jr.

Download or read book Emerson written by Robert D. Richardson Jr. and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2015-04-22 with total page 705 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recipient of the Francis Parkman Prize from the Society of American Historians Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of the most important figures in the history of American thought, religion, and literature. The vitality of his writings and the unsettling power of his example continue to influence us more than a hundred years after his death. Now Robert D. Richardson Jr. brings to life an Emerson very different from the old stereotype of the passionless Sage of Concord. Drawing on a vast amount of new material, including correspondence among the Emerson brothers, Richardson gives us a rewarding intellectual biography that is also a portrait of the whole man. These pages present a young suitor, a grief-stricken widower, an affectionate father, and a man with an abiding genius for friendship. The great spokesman for individualism and self-reliance turns out to have been a good neighbor, an activist citizen, a loyal brother. Here is an Emerson who knew how to laugh, who was self-doubting as well as self-reliant, and who became the greatest intellectual adventurer of his age. Richardson has, as much as possible, let Emerson speak for himself through his published works, his many journals and notebooks, his letters, his reported conversations. This is not merely a study of Emerson's writing and his influence on others; it is Emerson's life as he experienced it. We see the failed minister, the struggling writer, the political reformer, the poetic liberator. The Emerson of this book not only influenced Thoreau, Fuller, Whitman, Dickinson, and Frost, he also inspired Nietzsche, William James, Baudelaire, Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf, and Jorge Luis Borges. Emerson's timeliness is persistent and striking: his insistence that literature and science are not separate cultures, his emphasis on the worth of every individual, his respect for nature. Richardson gives careful attention to the enormous range of Emerson's readings—from Persian poets to George Sand—and to his many friendships and personal encounters—from Mary Moody Emerson to the Cherokee chiefs in Boston—evoking both the man and the times in which he lived. Throughout this book, Emerson's unquenchable vitality reaches across the decades, and his hold on us endures.

Transcendentalism: Essential Essays of Emerson and Thoreau: Literary Touchstone Classic

Transcendentalism: Essential Essays of Emerson and Thoreau: Literary Touchstone Classic

Author:

Publisher: Prestwick House Inc

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 138

ISBN-13: 1603890165

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Book Synopsis Transcendentalism: Essential Essays of Emerson and Thoreau: Literary Touchstone Classic by :

Download or read book Transcendentalism: Essential Essays of Emerson and Thoreau: Literary Touchstone Classic written by and published by Prestwick House Inc. This book was released on 2008 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Oxford Handbook of Transcendentalism

The Oxford Handbook of Transcendentalism

Author: Joel Myerson

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2010-04-16

Total Pages: 790

ISBN-13: 0199716129

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The Oxford Handbook of Transcendentalism offers an ecclectic, comprehensive interdisciplinary approach to the immense cultural impact of the movement that encompassed literature, art, architecture, science, and politics.


Book Synopsis The Oxford Handbook of Transcendentalism by : Joel Myerson

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Transcendentalism written by Joel Myerson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-04-16 with total page 790 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Oxford Handbook of Transcendentalism offers an ecclectic, comprehensive interdisciplinary approach to the immense cultural impact of the movement that encompassed literature, art, architecture, science, and politics.

A Companion to American Literature

A Companion to American Literature

Author: Susan Belasco

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2020-04-03

Total Pages: 1864

ISBN-13: 1119653355

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A comprehensive, chronological overview of American literature in three scholarly and authoritative volumes A Companion to American Literature traces the history and development of American literature from its early origins in Native American oral tradition to 21st century digital literature. This comprehensive three-volume set brings together contributions from a diverse international team of accomplished young scholars and established figures in the field. Contributors explore a broad range of topics in historical, cultural, political, geographic, and technological contexts, engaging the work of both well-known and non-canonical writers of every period. Volume One is an inclusive and geographically expansive examination of early American literature, applying a range of cultural and historical approaches and theoretical models to a dramatically expanded canon of texts. Volume Two covers American literature between 1820 and 1914, focusing on the development of print culture and the literary marketplace, the emergence of various literary movements, and the impact of social and historical events on writers and writings of the period. Spanning the 20th and early 21st centuries, Volume Three studies traditional areas of American literature as well as the literature from previously marginalized groups and contemporary writers often overlooked by scholars. This inclusive and comprehensive study of American literature: Examines the influences of race, ethnicity, gender, class, and disability on American literature Discusses the role of technology in book production and circulation, the rise of literacy, and changing reading practices and literary forms Explores a wide range of writings in multiple genres, including novels, short stories, dramas, and a variety of poetic forms, as well as autobiographies, essays, lectures, diaries, journals, letters, sermons, histories, and graphic narratives. Provides a thematic index that groups chapters by contexts and illustrates their links across different traditional chronological boundaries A Companion to American Literature is a valuable resource for students coming to the subject for the first time or preparing for field examinations, instructors in American literature courses, and scholars with more specialized interests in specific authors, genres, movements, or periods.


Book Synopsis A Companion to American Literature by : Susan Belasco

Download or read book A Companion to American Literature written by Susan Belasco and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-04-03 with total page 1864 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive, chronological overview of American literature in three scholarly and authoritative volumes A Companion to American Literature traces the history and development of American literature from its early origins in Native American oral tradition to 21st century digital literature. This comprehensive three-volume set brings together contributions from a diverse international team of accomplished young scholars and established figures in the field. Contributors explore a broad range of topics in historical, cultural, political, geographic, and technological contexts, engaging the work of both well-known and non-canonical writers of every period. Volume One is an inclusive and geographically expansive examination of early American literature, applying a range of cultural and historical approaches and theoretical models to a dramatically expanded canon of texts. Volume Two covers American literature between 1820 and 1914, focusing on the development of print culture and the literary marketplace, the emergence of various literary movements, and the impact of social and historical events on writers and writings of the period. Spanning the 20th and early 21st centuries, Volume Three studies traditional areas of American literature as well as the literature from previously marginalized groups and contemporary writers often overlooked by scholars. This inclusive and comprehensive study of American literature: Examines the influences of race, ethnicity, gender, class, and disability on American literature Discusses the role of technology in book production and circulation, the rise of literacy, and changing reading practices and literary forms Explores a wide range of writings in multiple genres, including novels, short stories, dramas, and a variety of poetic forms, as well as autobiographies, essays, lectures, diaries, journals, letters, sermons, histories, and graphic narratives. Provides a thematic index that groups chapters by contexts and illustrates their links across different traditional chronological boundaries A Companion to American Literature is a valuable resource for students coming to the subject for the first time or preparing for field examinations, instructors in American literature courses, and scholars with more specialized interests in specific authors, genres, movements, or periods.