Literature chosen and arranged to invite students into the conversation.
The most comprehensive fiction section. Arranged alphabetically by author, the 65 stories — students' favorite genre — present the most diverse and flexible selection in such an anthology.
A rich selection of poetry, and a wealth of options for approaching it. Poetry is the genre that most intimidates students, so the 300-plus poems are organized to support a variety of ways to learn about them: by focusing on poetic elements and form, by exploring themes, and by studying individual poets in depth.
A teaching canon of 10 plays. Chronologically arranged, the drama section includes 8 of the plays most popular with students and teachers — plus 2 engaging contemporary works.
Commentaries that uniquely showcase how writers think, read, and write about literature. More than 100 commentaries by writers and critics explore the making and the meaning of literature, prompting student responses and providing models of thinking and writing about literature. Many of the commentaries are grouped into "Conversations" casebooks that take an in-depth look at major authors (such as Flannery O'Connor, Emily Dickinson, and William Shakespeare) or modern literary traditions (such as the Harlem Renaissance and the Beat Poets). Abundant reading and writing instruction and invitations to write include: (1) a chapter each on writing about stories, poems, and plays; (2) a brief handbook at the back of the book on writing about literature; (3) suggestions and guidelines for writing on literary elements; (4) topics for thinking and writing; and (5) writing assignments for nearly every selection in the book (but not in the book itself — instead available in the Instructor's Manual, where they won't influence students' reading unless instructors want them to).