70 NEW literary works that showcase the relevance and vitality of the American literary landscape against a backdrop of classic writing. From the brand new to the tried and true, students are exposed to stories, poems and plays that will resonate, invigorate, and provoke them to respond to and write about literature. Some highlights:
- humorous and heartbreaking new fiction (including graphic fiction) by George Saunders, David Means, and Lynda Barry
- contemporary poetry by Anthony Butts, Carl Phillips, Patricia Jabbeth Wesley, Vievee Francis, and Laure-Anne Bosselaar, among many others
- the recent Pulitzer Prize-winning play Topdog/Underdog by Suzi Lori Parks
- a dozen canonical selections from writers including James Joyce, John Steinbeck, John Donne, Langston Hughes, William Shakespeare, and Sophocles
Casebooks now highlight a variety of approaches literature. An author-in-depth casebook in the fiction section reprints stories by and criticism about Sherman Alexie; a thematic cluster in the poetry section takes a unique look at the poetry of daily life; and the drama casebook takes an in-depth look at the contexts and criticism of August Wilson’s Fences.
Thematic writing assignments suggest illuminating connections between contemporary and classic works. Highlighted on the table of contents, the pairings in these assignments provide fresh entry points into enduring older works while suggesting intriguing ways to approach less familiar current writing. Examples:
- Edward P. Jones’ "Bad Neighbors" and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s "Young Goodman Brown"
- George Saunders’ "The End of FIRPO in the World" and Katherine Anne Porter’s "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"
- Vievee Francis’ "Private Smith’s Primer" and Wilfred Owen’s "Dulce et Decorum Est"
More — and more accessible — writing instruction. Unique new "Tips on writing" complement the "Checklists for reading" in each chapter, providing step-by-step references to writing about the literary elements.
Expanded focus on literary research throughout the book. Creative research assignments have been added to each elements chapter and the updated literary research section (Part 5) now features more help for students in finding, evaluating, and incorporating sources — including a special section on locating sources for contemporary authors and a new cluster modeling the research process.