Modern American Women Writers

by Lea Baechler

Overview

In this rich examination of some of America’s leading writers, learn how the lives and work of thirty-two women shaped the literature they produced.

Based on the acclaimed hardcover edition, this concise revision of Modern American Women Writers is a unique look at a century of women’s contributions to the American literary tradition.

The essays included within this book are by the best scholars in the field of women’s studies and combine illuminating biographical detail with thoughtful discussions of each authors work. Featuring an introduction from distinguished feminist critic Elaine Showalter, Modern American Women Writers is “an outstanding reference source” for anyone looking to discover how women writers have shaped American literature(American Reference Books Annual).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780020820253
Publisher:	Touchstone
Publication date:	09/27/1993
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.95(d)

About the Author

Elaine Showalter is an American literary critic, feminist, and writer on cultural and social issues. She is a founder of feminist literary criticism in American academia, specifically known for developing the concept of gynocritics. She earned her PhD at the University of California, Davis and is a recipient of the Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism.

Editorial Reviews

This work provides critical and biographical essays on 41 representative American women writers who have published since 1870 in a variety of genres. Ranging in length from eight to 22 pages and from writers such as Frances E.W. Harper and Emily Dickinson to Anne Tyler and Alice Walker, the essays emphasize the social and historical context in which these women wrote and the existence of a female literary tradition. While American Women Writers: A Critical Reference Guide from Colonial Times to the Present ( LJ 8/79) covers a wider range of writers and includes all those treated here, this source provides greater depth and more current bibliographies. Although not entirely immune from the unevenness that characterizes many essay collections, the work serves as a useful resource for extended critical analysis of these writers and is recommended for general, women's studies, and literary research collections. See also The Meridian Anthology of Early Ameri can Women Writers , reviewed in this issue, p. 78.--Ed.-- Ellen Finnie Duranceau, MIT, Cambridge, Mass.

Library Journal

Forty-one essays on the lives, work, and influence of such diverse authors as Elizabeth Bishop, Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, Sylvia Plath, Maya Angelou, and Edith Wharton. Each essay discusses the author's style, development, and place in the American literary tradition, as well as her impact on feminist thought. Alphabetically arranged, and with a chronology of American women's history, bibliographies and suggestions for further reading. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews