Mark Twain

• born November 30th

• Redding, Connecticut

• 4 children

• Mark Twain not original name

  • Real Name Samuel Langhorne Clemens

Henry James

• During his lifetime wrote 20 novels, 112 tales, and 12 plays, including several volumes of travel writings and columns

• Best remembered as author of the novel The Portrait of a Lady (1881) and the novella The Turn of the Screw (1898)

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

• American feminist, lecturer, writer, and publisher; a leading theorist of the women’s movement in the US

• Married Charles Stetson in May 1884 and began suffering from melancholia a year later.

• Specialist applied the “rest cure” and concluded there was promptly nothing the matter with her

• Obeyed directions for 3 month before nearing utter mental ruin

• Cast advice aside, wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper,” and sent the work to her former physician who never acknowledged it

• Yes later, though, Gilman was told that her specialist had admitted to altering his treatment of neurasthenia (mental fatigue)

Charles Chestnutt

• Black and European American short story writer/novelist during the decades after the CIvil War

• Seven-eights white; could “pass” as a white man but never chose to do so

• “The Goophered Grapevine” became the first work of a Black person accepted by the Atlantic Monthly in August 1887

Paul Laurence Dunbar

• Most Popular African American Author of Generation

• Mostly published in white audience journals

• Later work in the Harlem Renaissance his readings were considered degrading not improvement because he began to speak as an African American in his writings

Stephen Crane

• Turn of 19th century greater disposable income.

• Crane was originally a journalist.

• Naturalism Author

Henry Adams

• Descendant of John Adams

• Wrote book containing Dynamo and the Virgin in Third Person

• Enjoyed traveling through Europe

• Friend of Augustus Saint-Gaudens

• Interest in Art & Cathedrals

• Loved Architecture and Engineering

• Wrote Book about Cathedrals

• Knew Samuel Langley, who was an early aviation pioneer

• the Palace of Electricity, was where you observed dynamos

• Fascinated by dynamos

Sui Sin Far

• Edith Maude Eaton - born in Cheshire, England

• Believed to be the first author of Chinese descent to publish in English in the US

• Began her writing career in MOntreal

• Later adopted her pseudonym ,”Sui Sin Far,” which translates to “water fairy flower”

• Heer journalism work led her to Seattle’s Chinatown

• Frequently addresses questions of cultural identity, racism, and intergenerational conflict

Sarah Winnemucca

• Northern Paiute writer, activist (lecturer), and educator

• Traditional Paiute name: THocmentony, or “Shell Flower”

• Granddaughter of Captain Truckee, who believe in traditional Paiute stories that a “lost White brother” would one day return

• Wrote her autobiography, Life Among the Piutes: Their Wrongs and CLaims, to recount her life events in the context of Paiute culture and history

  • Primarily written for a white audience-to understand Paiute lifeways, the threats encountered by white American, and Paiute resistance

Claude McKay

• wrote mostly in sonnets

Carl Sanburg

• Wrote like Walt Whitman

Amy Lowell

• main proponent of Imagist movement

Robert Frost

• Anti modernist, Modernist

• Heavily used imagism

• Used older forms of writing, such as sonnets

T.S. Eliot

• American-English poet, playwright, literary critic, and editor

• A self-proclaimed “anglo-Catholic” and influential leader of the Modernist movement

• Characterized as a slow worker… a lover of words, but a tireless revisor.

• His straight-laced demeanor was just for show; he was really quite the prankster.

  • Give Explosive Cigars to associates

  • Putting a whoopie cushion in seats

  • Brought the word “Bullshit” to the English Language

• Eliot admired metaphysical poets like John Donne but despised narrative poets like Milton.

• He reformed poetic diction along side his friend and associate, Ezra Pound.

• September 26, 1888 - January 4, 1965

Zitkala-Sa

• Founders of American Indian Magazine

  • Published her works and many stories/poems from new American Indian Authors of the period.

• In 1920 American Gov’t saw American Indians as American citizens

  • Brought the opportunity for American Indian Works to be expressed

• Was a Native American who was assimilated by Quaker missionaries

  • Brought to school against her will

  • Quaker Motto for Educating - “Kill the savage to save the man”

• The Carlisle Indian School was where she was forced to attend

Booker T. Washington

• Famously founded Tuskegee Institute

• Not Uncontroversial

• Very Well-known especially after address

• Teddy Roosevelt invited him to the White House for dinner

  • White people became very upset because of this

• He did not want African Americans to reach too far

  • Establish a base for African American success in society with blue collar jobs

  • Allow future generations to thrive

Susan Glaspell

• Part of Community of writers in New England doing Experimental Writing

Langston Hughes

• Later Harlem Renaissance Writer

• Around long enough to utilize television for his mission

  • The Tonight Show

Ralph Ellison

• On making of Invisible Man, Ellison declared: “I wasn’t , and am not, primarily concerned with injustice, but with art.”

• He stresses the universality of the individual human being.

• According to W.E.B. DuBois, he crossed and recrossed “the color line”

• A lover of art, sound, and music, Ellison drew inspiration from the “deep, rowdy stream of jazz.”

• To Ellison, serious literature engaged with the values of democracy and equality.

Flannery O’Connor

• “Art never responds to the wish to make it democratic; it is not for everybody; it is for those who are willing to undergo the effort needed to understand it.”

• An American novelist, short-story writer, adn essayist; some may describe her stories as dark and grotesque

• Published in `953, A Good Man Is Hard to Find remains her most famous work - it explores theses of violence, the nature of sin, religious hypocrisy, and redemption.

• As a devout Catholic, O’Connor said her stories showed the “action of grace in territory largely held by the devil”

Arthur Miller

• “Death of a Salesman” hallmark play

• Criticized society of version American dream

John Steinbeck

• “A journey is like a marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.

  • Steinbeck’s most notorious writing is set in central California

• His work merged literary modernism with literary realism. He celebrated traditional rural communities along with social outcasts and immigrant cultures.

• He was very obsessed with pencils. Some days, he would burn through over 100.

• In 1962, Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for “his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and social perception”

Zora Neale Hurston

• “Sometime, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me.”

  • Hurston’s early childhood was protected from racism— she encountered no white people.

• She collaborated with Langston Hughes on a play, but had a falling out.

• Hurston rejected the idea that a Black writer’s chief concern should be how Blacks were portrayed to the White reader

• She didn’t write to uplift her race, either. She presented the good, the bad, and the ugly of her characters

Allen Ginsburg

• Member of the Beats

• Gay man who was discriminated against in college

  • Would only be readmitted to university if he was cleansed of his gayness

  • “Howl” was his reaction

  • Walt Whitman influenced him heavily

Jack Kerouac

• Ancestors were French Canadian

• Most prominent member of Beat Generation

• Primarily wrote Prose

• Took a job as a Fire Lookout

  • Did so because he was an introvert yet famous everywhere

F. Scott Fitzgerald

• Very fond of money as a younger man

  • fell in love with his spouse and booze

  • used up all of his money

  • Spent a lot of time in Paris touring clubs

• Later in career he wrote lots of short stories to get more money

William Faulkner

• One of the most famous authors of his time

• Subject of many academic journals

• Used the theme of freedom and oppression in many of his writings

• “Family Comes First” is a continuous theme in Faulkner writing

  • Emersonian moments (right from wrong)

• Faulkner fictionalized his home county to use in short stories to create a universe between different stories.

James Baldwin

• 1924 - 1987

• An essayist, novelist, and playwright; famous for his clear and psychologically powerful prose

• Baldwin was raised in a strict religious household in Harlem; he was briefly a child [reacher at 14 but left the church soon after.

• His writing speaks honestly about race in America, analyzing dynamics in a way that was both gripping and intellectual.

• This made Baldwin a leading voice in the Civil Rights Movement

• Richard Wright was a mentor and good friend of Baldwin’s - he met him by simply knocking on his door one day

Richard Wright

• A novelist and short-story writer, Wright was among one of the first African American writers to publicly critique racial violence, segregation, and the physical limitations placed on African Americans in their work and education.

• With his 1940 publication of Native Son, Wright became the most famous African AMerican author of his time.

• He studied Marxist theory and joined the communist Party in 1932. He worked as a reporter for the Communist Daily Worker but broke from the Party in 1945

• “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” was first published in “Harper’s Bazaar Magazine” in 1940, then again in 1961 as part of Eight Man.

• 1908 - 1960

Gwendolyn Brooks

• Became involved in the renewed African American Civil Rights Movement

  • Shifted to more militant

• Originally wrote for white audience and later on for more of a black audience

Yusef Komunyakaa

• Vietnam Veteran

• Wrote some during war

• Wrote most poems post war after college

• Wrote many poems about veterans and war in the United States

Art Spiegelman (b. 1948)

• American cartoonist, graphic novelist and comics advocate, Art Spiegelman, “helped to establish comic storytelling as a sophisticated adult literary medium.”

• The Spiegelman’s emigrated from Poland to Sweden before settling in Queens, NY in the 1950s.

• In the 60s, Spiegelman designed artwork for Topps Chewing Gum’s Wacky Packages and Garbage Pail Kids - trading cards and stickers that mocked pop culture.

• Spiegelman wrote Maus as a memoir designed to record his father’s experience in the Holocaust- and his (Art’s) experience being the son of a survivor.

Alice Walker

• Reintroduced the world to the novels of Hurston

• “The Color Purple” is her biggest novel

• Appiscullary novel: A novel made up of letters between characters

Sherman Alexie

• Background:

  • Native American author, poet, and filmmaker.

  • Born on October 7, 1966, on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington State.

• Literary Works:

  • Known for works like "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" and "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian."

  • Often explores themes of Native American identity, poverty, and alcoholism.

• Achievements:

  • Won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature for "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" in 2007.

  • Received the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.

• Controversies:

  • Faced criticism for his portrayal of Native American characters and communities.

  • Some accuse him of perpetuating stereotypes and misrepresenting indigenous cultures.

• Legacy:

  • Considered a significant voice in contemporary Native American literature.

  • His works shed light on the struggles and resilience of Native American communities.

Gloria Anzaldúa

• Background:

  • Born in 1942 in Texas, USA.

  • Chicana feminist, cultural theorist, and writer.

• Key Ideas:

  • Borderlands/La Frontera:

    • Concept of living in-between cultures, languages, and identities.

    • Embracing hybridity and fluidity.

  • Mestiza Consciousness:

    • Embracing multiple identities and cultural backgrounds.

    • Rejecting binary thinking.

  • Spirituality:

    • Incorporating indigenous beliefs and spirituality into her work.

• Major Works:

  • "Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza" (1987):

    • Explores the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality.

    • Discusses the complexities of living on the border.

  • "This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color" (1981):

    • Co-edited with Cherrie Moraga.

    • Addresses issues faced by women of color.

• Legacy:

  • Influential in feminist, queer, and postcolonial studies.

  • Empowered marginalized voices and challenged dominant narratives.

  • Continues to inspire scholars and activists worldwide.

Sandra Cisnero

• “Writing is like sewing together these buttons, these bits and pieces.”

• Cisneros began writing at age ten. Like Cleófilas, she grew up in CHicago as the only daughter in a family of six borders

• The subject of her works: people finding their own lifestyles in the space between fixed boundaries.

• Cisneros’s characters have a facility with cultural play that reflects the bilingual and bicultural life shared by millions of Mexican Americans.

• Spanish words, Mexican holidays, ethnic foods, and localized religious practices punctuate her narratives.

Tim O'Brien

• Author: American novelist and short story writer.

• Famous Works: "The Things They Carried," "Going After Cacciato," "In the Lake of the Woods."

• Themes: War, memory, truth, storytelling.

• Style: Blends fiction and autobiography, blurring the line between truth and imagination.

• Influences: Vietnam War experiences heavily influence his writing.

• Awards: Received numerous awards including the National Book Award.

• Legacy: Known for his poignant portrayal of the Vietnam War and its impact on soldiers.

Joy Harjo

• Background:

  • Born on May 9, 1951, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

  • Member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

• Career:

  • Renowned poet, writer, and musician.

  • First Native American Poet Laureate of the United States (2019).

• Literary Works:

  • Known for blending Native American storytelling with poetry.

  • Notable works include "An American Sunrise" and "Crazy Brave".

• Themes:

  • Focuses on nature, spirituality, and the struggles of Native Americans.

  • Addresses issues of identity, history, and social justice.

• Awards:

  • Received numerous awards for her literary work.

  • National Humanities Medal in 2014.

• Legacy:

  • Advocates for indigenous rights and environmental issues.

  • Inspires others through her powerful storytelling and poetry.

Amy Tan

• “If you can’t change your fate, change your attitude.”

• Tan’s works focus on multiculturalism, mother-daughter relations, and contrasts between old-country and new-world generations- three aspects of her own experience.

• In The Joy Luck Club, Tan addresses the daughterly relationship, that gave her grounds for reconciliation, based on a better understanding of her mother’s past.

• “Two Kinds” ran as a short story in The Atlantic Monthly- it is an excerpt from The Joy Luck Club(1989).

Natasha Trethewey

• Born from a mixed race couple

• Parents divorced and mother remarried a black man

• Step father was violent and ended up killing her mother when she was about 18

• Loved to use photographs and visuals

  • Background:

    • American poet and writer.

    • Born on April 26, 1966, in Gulfport, Mississippi.

    • Mother was African American and father was white.

  • Career Highlights:

    • Served as the 19th Poet Laureate of the United States from 2012 to 2014.

    • Won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2007 for her collection "Native Guard."

    • Known for exploring themes of race, history, and memory in her works.

  • Notable Works:

    • "Domestic Work" (2000): Debut collection of poems.

    • "Native Guard" (2006): Pulitzer Prize-winning collection.

    • "Thrall" (2012): Explores the complex history of interracial relationships.

  • Themes in Her Work:

    • Identity, race, and history.

    • Family relationships and personal experiences.

    • The South and its complex social dynamics.

  • Legacy:

    • Recognized for her lyrical and poignant exploration of difficult subjects.

    • Continues to be a prominent voice in American poetry.

George Saunders

• Background:

  • American writer born on December 2, 1958, in Amarillo, Texas.

  • Studied at the Colorado School of Mines and Syracuse University.

• Literary Style:

  • Known for his unique blend of satire, humor, and empathy.

  • Often explores themes of consumerism, capitalism, and the human condition.

• Notable Works:

  • CivilWarLand in Bad Decline (1996): His debut collection of short stories.

  • Tenth of December (2013): A critically acclaimed collection of short stories.

  • Lincoln in the Bardo (2017): His first novel, which won the Man Booker Prize.

• Awards and Recognition:

  • Recipient of numerous awards, including the MacArthur Fellowship.

  • Considered one of the most important contemporary American writers.

• Teaching Career:

  • Currently a professor of creative writing at Syracuse University.

  • Known for his mentorship of emerging writers.

• Influence:

  • Saunders' work has influenced a new generation of writers with his innovative storytelling and social commentary.

  • Often praised for his ability to capture the complexities of human nature with compassion and wit.

• He has a very dark sense of humor.

Jhumpa Lahiri

• “She has the gift of accepting her life.” - The Namesake

• “An English-born American Novelist and short-story writer whose works illuminate the immigrant experience, in particular that of East Indians”

• She produced her first novel, The Namesake, in 2003, which contrasts cultural assimilation with curiosity about the values, beliefs, and practices of a preceding generation.

• Much of Lahiri’s short fiction portrays the learning process of someone acting without monocultural constraint - the curiosity of young adults is a hallmark of her style.

August Wilson

• Background:

  • Born on April 27, 1945, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

  • African American playwright.

• Career:

  • Known for his ten-play series, "The Pittsburgh Cycle" or "Century Cycle".

  • Each play represents a decade of the 20th century, focusing on the African American experience.

• Notable Works:

  • "Fences" (1985) - won Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

  • "The Piano Lesson" (1987) - won Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

• Themes:

  • Explored themes of race, family, history, and the African American experience.

  • Often set in Pittsburgh's Hill District, where he grew up.

• Legacy:

  • Considered one of the greatest American playwrights.

  • Received numerous awards for his work.

• Death:

  • Passed away on October 2, 2005, in Seattle, Washington.

• Impact:

  • Wilson's work continues to be performed worldwide, influencing generations of playwrights and artists.

August Wilson: Style and Themes

Style

• Known for his powerful and authentic portrayal of African American life.

• Master of capturing the rhythms and nuances of everyday speech.

• Utilized vernacular language to bring his characters to life.

• Often set his plays in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, where he grew up.

• Employed a nonlinear narrative structure to explore the complexities of history and memory.

Themes

• Race and Identity: Explored the African American experience and struggles with identity in a predominantly white society.

• Family and Community: Emphasized the importance of family ties and community support in the face of adversity.

• History and Legacy: Examined the impact of history on individuals and communities, especially the legacy of slavery and segregation.

• Power and Oppression: Addressed issues of power dynamics, oppression, and resistance within society.

• Spirituality and Tradition: Explored the role of spirituality and cultural traditions in shaping personal and collective identities.

Conclusion

• August Wilson's distinctive style and thematic depth have solidified his legacy as one of the most influential playwrights in American theater history.

Carmen Maria Machado

• Background:

  • American writer born in 1986.

  • Known for her unique blend of horror, fantasy, and reality in her writing.

• Notable Works:

  • "Her Body and Other Parties" (2017): A collection of short stories exploring themes of gender and sexuality.

  • "In the Dream House" (2019): A memoir that delves into an abusive relationship through various narrative styles.

• Themes:

  • Gender and sexuality.

  • Domestic violence.

  • Identity and self-discovery.

• Writing Style:

  • Experimental and innovative.

  • Blurs the lines between genres.

  • Often incorporates elements of magical realism.

• Recognition:

  • Finalist for the National Book Award.

  • Winner of the Bard Fiction Prize.

  • Recipient of numerous other awards and honors.

• Influence:

  • Machado's work has had a significant impact on contemporary literature.

  • She is celebrated for her bold and thought-provoking storytelling.

Writing Style and Literary Themes of Carmen Maria Machado

• Writing Style:

  • Experimental and innovative.

  • Blurs genre boundaries.

  • Incorporates magical realism elements.

• Themes:

  • Gender and sexuality.

  • Domestic violence.

  • Identity and self-discovery.

Li-Young Lee

• Background:

  • Chinese-American poet born in Jakarta, Indonesia in 1957.

  • Son of exiled Chinese political leader.

• Themes in his Poetry:

  • Family, memory, love, and identity.

  • Often explores his relationship with his father and Chinese heritage.

• Notable Works:

  • Rose (1986)

  • The City in Which I Love You (1990)

  • Book of My Nights (2001)

• Writing Style:

  • Poetic language infused with imagery and emotion.

  • Reflective and introspective tone.

• Awards:

  • Received numerous awards including the American Book Award and the William Carlos Williams Award.

• Influence:

  • Known for his profound impact on contemporary American poetry.

  • Often cited as a master of lyrical poetry.

Viet Thanh Nguyen

• Immigrant parents

  • Fled Vietnam in Communist Takeover

  • Background:

    • Vietnamese-American author and professor.

    • Born in Vietnam in 1971, fled to the US as a refugee in 1975.

  • Career:

    • Known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Sympathizer" (2015).

    • Also wrote "The Refugees" (2017) and "The Committed" (2021).

    • Works often explore themes of identity, war, and displacement.

  • Academic Career:

    • Teaches English and American Studies at the University of Southern California.

    • Expertise in Asian American literature and culture.

  • Achievements:

    • Received numerous awards for his writing.

    • Advocate for refugee and immigrant rights.

  • Legacy:

    • Considered a prominent voice in contemporary literature.

    • Sheds light on the Vietnamese-American experience and diaspora.