Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama: Sixth Edition

by Dana Gioia

Literature, 9/e, the most popular introduction of its kind, is organized into three genres¤Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. As in past editions, the authors' collective poetic voice brings personal warmth and a human perspective to the discussion of literature, adding to students' interest in the readings. An introduction to a balance of contemporary and classic stories, poems, and plays. Casebooks offer in-depth look at an author or clusters of works, for example “Latin American Poetry.” Authors Joe Kennedy and Dana Gioia provide inviting and illuminating introductions to the authors included and to the elements of literature. Coverage of writing about literature is also included. For those interested in literature.

1859 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Dana Gioia is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning poet. Former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, Gioia is a native Californian of Italian and Mexican descent. He received a B.A. and a M.B.A. from Stanford University and an M.A. in Comparative Literature from Harvard University. (Gioia is pronounced JOY-uh.)

Gioia has published four full-length collections of poetry, as well as eight chapbooks. His poetry collection, Interrogations at Noon, won the 2002 American Book Award. An influential critic as well, Gioia's 1991 volume Can Poetry Matter?, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award, is credited with helping to revive the role of poetry in American public culture.

Gioia's reviews have appeared in many magazines including The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Washington Post Book World, The New York Times Book Review, Slate, and The Hudson Review. Gioia has written two opera libretti and is an active translator of poetry from Latin, Italian, and German.

As Chairman of the NEA, Gioia succeeded in garnering enthusiastic bi-partisan support in the United States Congress for the mission of the Arts Endowment, as well as in strengthening the national consensus in favor of public funding for the arts and arts education. (Business Week Magazine referred to him as "The Man Who Saved the NEA.")

Gioia's creation of a series of NEA National Initiatives combined with a wider distribution of direct grants to reach previously underserved communities making the agency truly national in scope. Through programs such as Shakespeare in American Communities, Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience, NEA Jazz Masters, American Masterpieces, and Poetry Out Loud, the Arts Endowment has successfully reached millions of Americans in all corners of the country.

The Big Read became the largest literary program in the history of the federal government. By the end of 2008, 400 communities had held month-long celebrations of great literature. Because of these successes as well as the continued artistic excellence of the NEA's core grant programs, the Arts Endowment, under Chairman Gioia, reestablished itself as a preeminent federal agency and a leader in the arts and arts education.

Renominated in November 2006 for a second term and once again unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Dana Gioia is the ninth Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Gioia left his position as Chairman on January 22, 2009. In 2011 Gioia became the Judge Widney Professor of Poetry and Public Culture at the University of Southern California where he teaches each fall semester.

Gioia has been the recipient of ten honorary degrees. He has won numerous awards, including the 2010 Laetare Medal from Notre Dame. He and his wife, Mary, have two sons. He divides his time between Los Angeles and Sonoma County, California

Reviews

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our English textbook for senior year Honors English class from 1999-2000. I kept it in my parents' basement, found it 20 years later, and read the whole thing.

It's really good! There are three sections: short stories, poetry, and drama. Almost all the short stories and plays are enjoyable. I'm not a big poetry fan, but I thought the poetry in this book had a higher hit rate than any other collection I've read. I also feel confident that I "get" poetry now. The book is designed for freshman in college. It teaches you different ways to approach challenging literature.

It's good enough that I'm glad I've kept it, and I'll hang on to it. If nothing else, it has very approachable translations for works like Kafka's The Metamorphosis, Sophocles's Antigone and Oedipus Rex, and others. Good footnotes for English works like Othello and Hamlet. It's also got a number of diverse voices: readers will enjoy the works by August Wilson, Sandra Cisneros, and many others.

[Erin]

We are on the tale end of our books that were carried across the ocean with us. This one came out of a storage box (it was required reading at Koc high school). But it has Flannery O'Connor, Jorge Luis Borges, Raymond Carver, Alice Munro, Dorris Lessing...

[Christopher Brehm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Used as my college Freshman English II textbook