Many Californias: Literature from the Golden State

by Gerald W. Haslam (Editor)

Haslam divides the state into five regions, selecting prose and poetry from each that reflects their history, terrain, and culture. Many Califonias features sixty-seven authors ranging from Jack London to Maxine Hong Kingston, making it the most diverse general-interest anthology available.

 

Genres: Poetry, Fiction

408 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Peter Swanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent collection of fiction and poetry about California. Some authors are actual Californians (Didion, Steinbeck), and some are imports (Stegner, Clemens), but each has a firm grasp on some aspect of life in California.
As a second-generation native Californian I admit a certain bias on my part. I learned a few things from these writers, and had verified things I already knew. I had previously read Joan Didion's opinion that the image people have of our state is due more to legend than reality, but I had not known that the first fictional description was created a couple of decades before Europeans saw the place. Apparently the very energy of its existence demanded to be known.
I recommend this collection to both the mildly curious and the devoted seekers of what I will call the California experience, life within the reality and legends of my state.

[Charron · Rating 2 out of 5]

This an anthology. There were certain works chosen for a class.

[Greynomad · Rating 2 out of 5]

ok