Annotated Bibliography 9
Well-chosen collection of poetry in a wide variety of forms that includes works
by major poets. The book is extremely helpful for its clear explanations of the
various forms.
Christopher Douglas, Reciting America: Culture and Cliché in Contemporary U .S.
Fiction (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2001).
Examines the ways contemporary literary works both repeat and challenge clichés
about American identity and experience such as “one nation under God,” “life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” and the “American dream.”
Robert Durante, The Dialectic of Self and Story: Reading and Storytelling in Con-
temporary American Fiction (New York: Routledge, 2001).
Argues that the Realist impulse in American fiction from the 1980s and 1990s
is accompanied by Postmodernist themes such as alienation, social disintegration,
and authorial self-reflexivity.
Emory Elliott, Martha Banta, Houston A. Baker, and others, eds., The Columbia
Literary History of the United States (New York: Columbia University Press,
1988).
Essays surveying themes, genres, and subject matter of American literature. Most
relevant to the contemporary period is part 5, “1945 to the Present.”
Elliott, Cathy N. Davidson, and others, eds., The Columbia History of the American
Novel (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991).
Thirty-one essays examining the American novel from the sixteenth century.
Relevant to the contemporary period are the essays in the section “The Late
Twentieth Century.”
Wendy B. Faris, Ordinary Enchantments: Magical Realism and the Remystif ication
of Narrative (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2004).
Examination of magical realism in contemporary fiction from around the world,
identifying its major characteristics and narrative traits.
Cecilia Konchar Farr, Reading Oprah: How Oprah’s Book Club Changed the Way
America Reads (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2005).
History and analysis of the cultural phenomenon of Oprah Winfrey’s television
book club, arguing that Winfrey has used it both to entertain and to enlighten
her viewers.
Henry Louis Gates Jr., The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of Afro-American Literary
Criticism (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988).
Traces the roots of African American literature to African folklore, traditions, and
languages. Gates mainly examines works written before 1970, but his approach is
relevant to works published more recently.
Paula Geyh, Fred G. Leebron, and Andrew Levy, eds., Postmodern American Fic-
tion: A Norton Anthology (New York: Norton, 1997).
Devoted to post–World War II experimental fiction, including excerpts from
novels, short stories, creative nonfiction, and access to hypertext fiction. The gen-
eral introduction, section introductions, and author headnotes provide social, his-