A History of American Literature 1900 - 1950 - Hardcover

by Christopher Macgowan (Author)

A look at the first five decades of 20^th century American literature, covering a wide range of literary works, figures, and influences

A History of American Literature 1900-1950 is a current and well-balanced account of the main literary figures, connections, and ideas that characterized the first half of the twentieth century. In this readable, highly informative book, the author explores significant developments in American drama, fiction, and poetry, and discusses how the literature of the period influenced, and was influenced by, cultural trends in both the United States and abroad.

Considering works produced during America's rise to prominence on the world stage from both regional and international perspectives, MacGowan provides readers with keen insights into the literature of the period in relation to America's transition from an agrarian nation to an industrial power, the racial and economic discrimination of Black and Native American populations, the greater financial and social independence of women, the economic boom of the 1920s, the Depression of the 1930s, the impact of world wars, massive immigration, political and ideological clashes, and more. Encompassing five decades of literary and cultural diversity in one volume, A History of American Literature 1900-1950

• Covers American theater, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, magazines and literary publications, and popular media
• Discusses the ways writers dramatized the immense social, economic, cultural, and political changes in America throughout the first half of the twentieth century
• Explores themes and influences of Modernist poets, expatriate novelists, and literary publications founded by women and African-Americans
• Features the work of Black writers, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Jewish Americans

A History of American Literature 1900-1950 is essential reading for all students in upper-level American literature courses as well as general readers looking to better understand the literary tradition of the United States.

Back Jacket

A readable, informative, and up-to-date look at the first five decades of twentieth-century American literature

Covering a wide range of literary works, figures, and influences, A History of American Literature 1900-1950 explores significant developments in American drama, fiction, and poetry. Author Christopher MacGowan discusses how the literature of the period influenced, and was influenced by, cultural trends and attitudes in both the United States and abroad.

This volume provides a well-balanced account of the main literary figures, connections, and ideas that characterized American literature of the period. Throughout the text, the author explores themes of Modernist poets and expatriate novelists, literary publications founded by women and African Americans, Native American and Asian American writers, the ways writers dramatized the enormous social, economic, cultural, and political changes in America, and much more.

Providing deep insights into how American writers reflected issues ranging from the racial and economic discrimination of the age to America's transition from an agrarian nation to an industrial power, A History of American Literature 1900-1950 is essential reading for students in upper-level American literature courses and general readers with interest in the literary tradition of the United States.

Author Biography

CHRISTOPHER MACGOWAN teaches modernist poetry and American literature at the College of William and Mary, where he is a William R. Kenan Jr. Professor. He is a specialist in the poetry of William Carlos Williams and has published on Sherwood Anderson, Denise Levertov, Ford Madox Ford, and Vladimir Nabokov. He is the author of Twentieth-Century American Poetry and The Twentieth Century American Fiction Handbook.