Introduction
Helena Marvin and OpenAI
Welcome to American Literatures After 1865!
Berke, Amy; Bleil, Robert; Cofer, Jordan; and Davis, Doug, “Writing the Nation: A Concise Introduction to American Literature 1865 to Present” (2015). English Open Textbooks. 5.
This Open Educational Resource (OER) is designed to provide college students with an introduction to the major works of American literatures from 1865 to the present day. You’ll find rich and diverse stories and voices that have shaped the American experience. In this collection, and linked beyond it, you can read the works of iconic authors who made their mark on the American literary scene and stories that reflect and challenge the American identity. You will explore themes of race, gender, class, and sexuality. You will gain insight into the struggles and aspirations of the American people. By the end of this OER, you will have a better understanding of the history of American literature and how it has shaped and been shaped by American culture. You will gain a deeper appreciation for the complexity of the American experience and a greater appreciation for the power of literature. We hope that your journey through this anthology of American literatures will inspire and challenge you. We are excited to share this experience with you!
In this collection, you will find some of the most iconic works of American literature, both new and old. Many of the works featured in this anthology are available in the public domain, meaning that they are free from copyright restrictions. As such, you are free to read, share, and use them for any purpose. Much of this work is shared under a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike license, just as the Writing the Nation work this anthology has. This OER provides links to many works which are under copyright and cannot be collected within this text.
Some explanatory sections of this anthology (such as this section) were generated with the assistance of OpenAI, a technology that employs machine learning and natural language processing to generate text.
We have also included links to works that are protected by copyright. In many cases, these works can be checked out from the Internet Archive with a free account. We hope you enjoy this collection of American literatures. If you are looking for an anthology of American literatures prior to 1865, do check out the companion work American Literatures Prior to 1865 which can be found at https://umsystem.pressbooks.pub/alpt1865/.
This image indicates that the selected reading is linked and available outside of this resource. Works that are not in the public domain are not shared within this OER but are instead linked to when available.
Below is an incomplete bibliography of linked works:
“A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” A Good Man Is Hard to Find, and Other Stories, by Flannery O’Connor, New York : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992, pp. 1–22. Internet Archive,http://archive.org/details/goodmanishardtof0000ocon.
“A Supermarket in California.” Collected Poems, 1947-1997, by Allen Ginsberg, New York : HarperCollins Publishers, 2006, p. 144. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/collectedpoems190000gins_s3u0.
“A Worn Path.” The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty, by Eudora Welty, New York : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980, pp. 142–94. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/collectedstories0000welt.
Abramson, Seth. “Metamodernism 101.” Just Words, 23 July 2015, https://medium.com/just-words/metamodernism-101-8cdb8563e0.
“Act I & 2.” Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, London : Methuen Drama, 2010, pp. 1–118. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/deathofsalesman0000mill_e4j4.
“Driving into the Wreck.” Adrienne Rich’s Poetry : Texts of the Poems : The Poet on Her Work : Reviews and Criticism, by Adrienne Cecile Rich et al., New York : Norton, 1975, pp. 65–68. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/adriennerichspoe00adri.
“Everyday Use.” In Love & Trouble : Stories of Black Women, by Alice Walker, Orlando, Fla. : Harcourt, 2001, pp. 47–59. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/inlovetroublesto0000walk.
Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.” A Rose for Emily, [Columbus, Ohio] Merrill, 1970, pp. 9–16. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/roseforemily0000faul.
“Good Country People.” A Good Man Is Hard to Find, and Other Stories, by Flannery O’Connor, New York : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992, pp. 167–95. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/goodmanishardtof0000ocon.
Langston, Hughes. “Theme for English B.” Langston Hughes, by S. L. Berry, Mankato, Minnesota : Creative Education, 2015, p. 17. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/langstonhughes0000berr.
Langston Hughes, “Christ in Alabama,” Contempo, 1931. 1931, https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/vir_museum/id/445.
“Neighbour Rosicky.” Five Stories, by Willa Cather, New York, Vintage Books, 1956, pp. 72–111. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/fivestories00cath.
Nella Larsen. “Sanctuary.” The Forum 1930-01: Vol 83 Iss 1, Open Court Publishing Co, 1930, pp. 15–18. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/sim_forum-and-century_1930-01_83_1.
“Of Modern Poetry.” The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens, by Wallace Stevens, New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1989, pp. 239–40. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/collectedpoemsof00stev.
Plath, Sylvia. “Daddy.” The Collected Poems, by Ted Hughes, New York : Harper & Row, 1981, pp. 222–24. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/collectedpoems00sylv.
Poetry Breaks: Allen Ginsberg Reads “A Supermarket in California.” Directed by Poets.org, 2017. YouTube, https://youtu.be/AhTh01CO60Y?t=30.
“Scene One to Scene Four.” A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, [United States?] : Turtleback Books, 2004, pp. 3–84. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/streetcarnamedde0000will_q0h6.
Silko, Leslie Marmon. “Yellow Woman.” Storyteller, New York : Penguin Books, 2012, pp. 52–60. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/storyteller0000silk_i4k4.
“Sonny’s Blues.” Going to Meet the Man, by James Baldwin, New York : Dial Press, 1965, pp. 103–41. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/goingtomeetman0000bald.
“The Snows of Kilimanjaro.” The Snows of Kilimanjaro, and Other Stories, by Ernest Hemingway, Penguin Books : Jonathan Cape, 1963, pp. 7–33. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/snowsofkilimanja0000unse_i4o8.
Toni Morrison. “Recitatif.” Leaving Home : Stories, New York : HarperCollins Publishers, 1998, pp. 203–27. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/leavinghomestori0000unse.
Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” Best Short Stories : Advanced Level, Providence, R.I. : Jamestown Publishers, 1990, pp. 133–41. Internet Archive, http://archive.org/details/bestshortstories0000unse_y4f9.
