Contains "The Greatest Americanest Novel," a conglomerate of the first and last lines of a number of great American novels; provides a scorecard on which readers can attempt to identify the quotations. (DD)

Native American literary works have often been ignored by serious critics or examined by social scientists in ways that rob them of their effectiveness as works of art. The emphasis of postmodern theory on the creative power of language, on narrative discourse, and on signs and semiotics allows an original and perceptive approach to Native…

Poetry helps people to focus on the world, to focus more clearly on what is inside a person and all around. This anthology of poems by America's best poets contains many kinds of poems aimed at many kinds of readers. The poems in the anthology are meant to be enjoyed by children, but they are not necessarily "children's poetry." Each poet whose…

Relates the efforts of completing two collections of the works and papers of Mark Twain. Describes the combined efforts of the University of Iowa and the University of California to publish both a scholarly edition and a reader's edition devoted to Twain. (KO)

Chosen for their literary quality and because they reflect the historical periods in which they were written, the 23 one-act dramas in this anthology represent the work of American female playwrights. The plays range from the realistic dramas produced in the "Little Theatres" of New York City at the turn of the century to current off-Broadway…

This collection of poems by contemporary poets stretches across the boundaries of skin color, ethnicity, language, and religion to give voice to the lives and experiences of ethnic Americans. The poems address common themes of assimilation, self-perception, and communication. In recording everyday life in the many American cultures, the poems…

Discusses the comprehensive volume, "A Literary History of the American West." Outlines the method of organization and scope of material included in the volume. Points out that this work covers four centuries of chronicles devoted to the West, and that the materials reflect literature from both the old and the new West. (KO)