Books and beyond; the Greenwood encyclopedia of new American reading; 4v.

9780313337383

Books and beyond; the Greenwood encyclopedia of new American reading; 4v.

Ed. by Kenneth Womack.

Greenwood Press

2008

1292 pages

$399.95

Hardcover

Z1003

This four-volume set for general readers and high school and college students contains chapters on genres or areas in contemporary American literature, arranged alphabetically. Each chapter includes a historical overview of the development of the genre, a definition, and discussion and brief analyses of works, with the most emphasis on those published by major authors from 1980 to the present. Chapters also discuss major trends and themes in the genre, contexts and issues, and reception, including criticism, film adaptations, and relationships to popular culture. Chapters include children's literature, genres of fiction, humor, poetry, travel writing, Native American literature, memoir, chick lit, Christian fiction, literary journalism, magical realism, true crime, comic books, ecopoetry, GLBTQ literature, graphic novels, manga and anime, and zines. An index is provided in the last volume only, which also has a list of contemporary authors by genre.

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