Anthology of American Literature, Vol. 2

by George L. McMichael (Editor), James S. Leonard

This leading, two-volume anthology represents America¿s literary heritage from the colonial times of William Bradford and Anne Bradstreet to the contemporary era of Saul Bellow and Alice Walker. Volume II begins with Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson and moves through Toni Morrison. Other featured authors include Julia Alvarez, Billy Collins, W.E.B. DuBois, Stephen Dunn, Nikki Giovannu, Susan Glaspell, June Jordan, Jamaica Kincaid, Audre Lorde, Gary Snyder, and Kurt Vonnegut. For readers of American literature.

Genres: Fiction, Literature, Anthologies, Reference, School, Textbooks, American

2258 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[B. P. Rinehart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amazing anthology that starts with Mark Twain & ends with Billy Collins. In between they feature a varied assortment of writers across almost every demographic and school of literature that came about in the United States. I personally brought this book because it featured a good selection of writers from the Black Arts Movement and beyond, but it features a good introduction of writers from every generation from the above mentioned eras. Also, it features limited commentary so it has that over The Norton Anthology of American Literature.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the textbook in my American Lit class in the late 70's. At the time I read the assigned selections, about a fourth of the book. Currently I am working on reading the entire book. It starts with Whitman and goes through to the early 70's. I have a collection by different authors and publishers for Volume 1, also printed in the 70's which was given to me by a friend that covers from Bradford to Whitman. After some research I found Volume Two of that set and bought it. There is some overlap in both second volumes but each has much that is unique to that volume. I am enjoying working through these books and getting a great overview of American Literature.

[Monzenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, like the first anthology. There's a story for everyone here. This one starts with post-Civil war and ends in modern times, going through realism, non-realism, and back to confessional-style works. Works covered the whole spectrum of experiences, from bad to good. Amusing that Billy Collins ends the anthology with meta-fiction, i.e. talking about poems and fiction in his poems.

[Ana Mardoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

American Literature, Vol. 2 / 0-13-083815-2

This anthology completely reversed the long-standing impression formed in my childhood that American literature is intrinsically boring. This volume includes hundreds of wonderful examples of superb American literature, particularly and especially from minority voices that I had never before been exposed to. The short stories provided by female and African American authors are absolutely wonderful, and they provide an important contrast to the "traditional" authors taught predominantly in grade schools. Which isn't to say that the "traditional" authors aren't also good, just that the contrast provided here by the multitude of voices is absolutely crucial to the appreciation of the evolution of American literature. I highly recommend this volume for any private library, and I would bet that even the most well-read enthusiast can find at least one new author here to enjoy.

REALISM LITERATURE
- Adams, Henry
- Bierce, Ambrose
- Dickenson, Emily
- Cable, George Washington
- Chesnutt, Charles Waddell
- Chopin, Kate
- Crane, Stephen
- Dreiser, Theodore
- Freeman, Mary E. Wilkins
- Gilman, Charlotte Perkins
- Harris, Joel Chandler
- Harte, Bret
- Howells, William Dean
- James, Henry
- Jewett, Sarah Orne
- London, Jack
- Norris, Frank
- Twain, Mark
- Wharton, Edith
- Whitman, Walt

TWENTIETH CENTURY LITERATURE
- Albee, Edward
- Ammons, A.R.
- Anderson, Sherwood
- Baldwin, James
- Bambara, Toni Cade
- Baraka, Amiri (LeRoi Jones)
- Barthelme, Donald
- Beattie, Ann
- Bellow, Saul
- Bishop, Elizabeth
- Brooks, Gwendolyn
- Carver, Raymond
- Cather, Willa
- Cisneros, Sandra
- Crane, Hart
- Cullen, Countee
- Cummings, E.E.
- DeLillo, Don
- Dickey, James
- dos Passos, John
- Dove, Rita
- Eliot, T.S.
- Ellison, Ralph
- Erdrich, Louise
- Faulkner, William
- Fitzgerald, F. Scott
- Frost, Robert
- Ginsberg, Allen
- Glasgow, Ellen
- Gluck, Louise
- Hansberry, Lorraine
- Hemingway, Ernest
- Howe, Tina
- Hughes, Langston
- Hurston, Zora Neale
- Jarrell, Randall
- Jeffers, Robinson
- Kingston, Maxine Hong
- Levertov, Denise
- Lowell, Robert
- Malamud, Bernard
- Mason, Bobbie Ann
- Merwin, W.S.
- Miller, Arthur
- Moore, Marianne
- Morrison, Toni
- Naylor, Gloria
- O'Conner, Flannery
- O'Neill, Eugene
- Oates, Joyce Carol
- Olson, Tillie
- Plath, Sylvia
- Porter, Katherine Anne
- Pound, Ezra
- Pynchon, Thomas
- Rich, Adrienne
- Rivera, Tomas
- Robinson, Edwin Arlington
- Roethke, Theodore
- Roth, Philip
- Sanchez, Sonia
- Sandburg, Carl
- Sexton, Anne
- Silko, Leslie Marmon
- Stein, Gertrude
- Steinbeck, John
- Stevens, Wallace
- Tan, Amy
- Toomer, Jean
- Updike, James
- Walker, Alice
- Welty, Eudora
- Wilbur, Richard
- Williams, Tennesee
- Williams, William Carlos
- Wolfe, Thomas
- Wright, Richard

~ Ana Mardoll

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the finest collections of short story, novella, poetry and other American literature forms....I have read and reread and reread this book over the last thirty years....Outstanding!!!

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read select texts for my ENG 2520 class.