The Book of Literary Terms: The Genres of Fiction, Drama, Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, and Scholarship

by Lewis Turco

The best-selling author of The Book of Forms -- now in a third edition -- has created the same codification and systematization for all nonfiction forms of writing, and for all forms of fiction other than poetry. In The Book of Literary Terms, Lewis Turco provides a comprehensive guide to, and definitions of all significant terms, forms, and styles in all genres of literature except poetry. For each, all sub-genres and their historical examples are described and defined, all significant terms explicated, and all important styles represented. Wonderful for browsing as well as for reference, it is a book for students and teachers of all genres of literature, for serious general readers of literature, and for writers and critics. Turco writes in an authoritative yet engaging manner, providing endless unsuspected opportunities and avenues for readers to explore. From abecedarius, Bardolatry, cliffhanger, docudrama, epistle, foreshadowing, gagline, hypallage, invective, jestbook, kabuki play, litotes, and muckraker, to non sequitur, one-liner, pulp fiction, quartet, recognition scene, spoonerism, triple-decker, Utopian novel, videotape, writing surfaces, yellow journalism, and zeugma, and including everything in-between, it's all there in The Book of Literary Terms.

Genres: Writing

236 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1999

About the author

Lewis Putnam Turco was an American poet, teacher, and writer of fiction and non-fiction. Turco was an advocate for Formalist poetry (or New Formalism) in the United States.

Reviews

[Karen Ireland-Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

I need this book for its introduction, which reviews and summarizes the elementary school to college building blocks of grammar and writing in a mere 38 pages![return][return]This really is a reference work, not a “read”, but I found it very informative. [return][return]Covering fiction and non-fiction, Turco first reviews the historical basis of modern forms of writing, and explains and defines those forms and literary ideas. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that all English majors have a copy of this work on their bookshelves!