A Short Literary History of the United States

by Mario Klarer

A Short Literary History of the United States offers an introduction to American Literature for students who want to acquaint themselves with the most important periods, authors, and works of American literary history. Comprehensive yet concise, it provides an essential overview of the different currents in American literature in an accessible, engaging style. This book This book is ideal as a companion to courses in American Literature and American Studies, or as a study aid for exams.

210 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Cisse Clemminck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear, concise overview. Good introduction before tackling the 3000+ pages long Norton anthology of American literature😁

[DARIA · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the opportunity of taking Mario Klarer's course, Introduction to American Literary Studies, as one of the remote Ukrainian students in Innsbruck university. This is to say, my review is more about the course than the book alone.

I greatly enjoyed the course — I learned something new and brushed up on things I knew from my previous lit courses. Mario Klarer is an open and engaging lecturer, always encouraging students for discussion. Paired with the information in the book, Klarer would also provide a deeper insight on a topic at hand, which I appreciated a lot. I especially enjoyed Klarer's analysis on poetry of American Renaissance and modernism and the students in class' input (shout-out to the student who noted that William Carlos Williams' The Red Wheelbarrow looks like a wheelbarrow itself, and that the lyrical I in Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening might be a Native American).

The book itself serves its purpose of being a short overview. It doesn't overwhelm you with too much and too complicated, although it leaves you wishing for more. I also liked that Klarer mentions what happened in Europe during this or that time, which helped with understanding the period landscape, as well as drew attention to how the US literary movements were influenced by European ones.

This was my first real dive into American literature like this. It was a new and exciting experience for me. If you have the chance, I highly recommend taking the course.

A warm hello from Ukraine :)