Contemporary literature that's easy for students to connect with. Almost one third of the literature is new, including:
- Provocative new fiction that speaks to students — and a few classics that continue to engage them.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Birdsong and Sherman Alexie's War Dances are new, as is The Story of an Hour, Kate Chopin's classic.- Recent poetry by poets to watch — and some old favorites that students shouldn't miss.
Selections from John Donne, Allen Ginsberg, William Shakespeare, Frank O'Hara, and others are new, as are modern voices such as Carrie Fountain, Natasha Trethewey, Terrance Hayes, Daisy Fried, and Timothy Yu.- A short contemporary play and a full-length classic.
Lynn Nottage's Poof! is short and teachable, and Sophocles' Antigone is a dramatic classic.- A fresh harvest of nonfiction — along with some great essays of less recent vintage.
Lacy M. Johnson, David Sedaris, and Chang-Rae Lee's essays stand alongside classics of the genre by Jamaica Kincaid, Rachel Carson, and Katha Pollitt.
A new thematic chapter on Life and Death explores the sad, funny, and unique ways that we humans live and move toward the end of our lives as well as the ways we interact with the living, natural world around us.
New critical and cultural case studies. Flannery O'Connor's story "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" is followed by critical essays that illustrate the significance and limitations of interpreting texts, and Shakespeare's
Othello is accompanied by a collection of documents that highlight the racial contexts of the play.
More support for active and critical reading. A section on responding to literature shows students the importance of learning to read actively and become truly engaged, critical readers. New "Questions for Exploring" also provide genre-specific questions to consider when reading.
Literature: A Human Experience now comes with video. Bring today's writers into your classroom when you package with VideoCentral: Literature for free. Hear from T.C. Boyle, Ha Jin, and others, on character, voice, plot, and more. Each video comes with a brief author biography, an interview transcript, and questions to help students respond to the authors and write about literary works and elements. Watch a sample video at bedfordstmartins.com/videolit/catalog.