The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Volume 1

by Paul Lauter (Editor), Richard Yarborough (Editor), King-Kok Cheung

This premier survey of American literature has influenced the manner in which the American literary canon is taught in classrooms across the nation. In response to readers' requests, the editors of the "Heath Anthology continue to develop and reinforce its greatest strengths: diverse reading selections and strong ancillaries. With the assistance of more than 200 contributing editors, the editors have updated biographical and critical information and added new works of interest to both instructors and students.

The Fourth Edition features writers and selections that highlight the divergent communities and diverse voices constituting the United States, both past and present. Volume 1 takes students from Native American oral literatures up to 1865, including Whitman and Dickinson. Volume 2 (which can be packaged with a free supplement of Whitman and Dickinson works) opens with African American folk tales and regional writers, and includes new sections on the Beat Movement and the Vietnam Conflict.

Genres: Anthologies, Classics

2960 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1997

About the author

Paul Lauter (b. 1932) is Allan K. and Gwendolyn Miles Smith Professor of Literature at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. He has served as President of the American Studies Association (of the United States), and he is General Editor of the groundbreaking Heath Anthology of American Literature, now in its sixth edition.

Reviews

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Textbook for graduate school literature course.

[Justin Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm mostly reading this for the early American short stories it contains. Found the book for .69 at goodwill, and it's around 2000 pages. Not too many short stories, but what's in here is essential reading: Irving, Hawthorne, Poe, and some lesser known writers. Most of the stories can be found online. For a great story by a lesser known American author, check out "Lemorne Versus Huell" by Elizabeth Drew Stoddard.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Heath Anthologies are a great thing. They tend to include not only the cannonically "important" authors, but many, many others of high quality. My love of American Literature is evident in the choice of both this and the VOL. 2 edition. These are fantasic, not only for reference, but for reading and enjoying.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just an amazing collection of everything important written in America from the colonial days to the Civil War. Great samples from Settler leaders, religious leaders, Founding Fathers, Chief Seattle, Emerson, Thoreau, Melville, and many others.
It's another one of those books I wish I'd kept from college.

[Ali Slansky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dry, dry, dry because this is the very beginning of American Literature, but a great resource to preview substantial selections by our first literary artists. This volume is full of Europe's colonization of the Americas, including explorer journals, religious pieces, captivity narratives, and a beginning of poetry and songs from the Loyalists and the Patriots.

[Burcu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had this anthology since I was an MA student at CalState Chico. It travelled with me through the years, remaining a good reference book whenever I needed. I don't know if I read it fully, but I read most of it, I think, and read some sections more than once. A good source to have around.