First published 2020
Brander Matthews challenges the conventional separation between American and English literature. He argues that literature belongs to its language, not its geography. Writers like Thoreau and Emerson create English literature just as much as their British counterparts do. Matthews compares this to how Alexandrian writers contributed to Greek literature despite living far from Greece. He points to Franklin, Hawthorne, and Poe as American authors whose works form part of English literary tradition. The book contends that birthplace and residence matter less than the language authors choose for expression. Matthews calls the standard division between American and English literature both unfortunate and misleading. He insists that comprehensive surveys of English literature must include American voices. The collection offers readers a framework for understanding how national boundaries artificially divide what should remain unified by shared language and literary tradition.
Genres: essays, literary-criticism, anthologies, american-fiction, 20th-century, american, 19th-century, academic
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: comparative-literature, literary-canon
Setting: Alexandria, England, Greece, United States
Period: 19th-Century, 20th-Century
568 pages · Paperback · Independently Published