Literature and Ourselves: A Thematic Introduction for Readers and Writers

by Gloria Mason; Day William; Waller Sandra Stevenson Henderson, Bill Day, Sandra Stevenson Waller

Literature and Ourselves, 3/e is a thematically arranged anthology that focuses on issues of self and self-exploration. With each of the six themes-Family, Men and Women, Human Vulnerability, Freedom and Responsibility, Art and Language, and Quest-the authors make literature real to the students in a personal way. Within each theme- Literature and Ourselves provides a unique combination of traditional and contemporary works organized by genre-essays, fiction, poetry, and drama-that reflect the diverse cultures and ethnicities that make up our world today. The third edition features enhanced coverage of the writing process, three new casebooks (August Wilson, Three Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, and Katherine Anne Porter) and new material on research and the Internet. For anyone interested in literature.

Genres: Nonfiction

1456 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[DawnF · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that contains essays, short fictions, poems and dramas.

There are so many wonderful writers and pieces captured in this book. The drama that made this book completely worthwhile for me was Shakespeare's Othello.

Othello is not a cheerful story, but instead is rather tragic and maddening (especially to a girl like me - I would think things like, why did he just believe what that person said...why didn't he ask her?!). But the reason I loved it was that the footnotes really helped improve my early 17th century English and enabled me to understand an otherwise impossible piece.

I can now say that I've read Maya Angelou, Martin Luther King, Jr., Tom Stoppard, Yeats, Keating, etc. A very nice starting point for someone who wants to expand their literary pursuits.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had it for an English Course, there's some pretty captivating works in there, and a lot of really apt interpretations, analyses, and criticisms. By being forced to read it i managed to find a number of authors i'm interested in, and a couple too that i'd all but forgotten. If you ever use this for a class, i imagine you will only use a certain selection of what's available, but take a look around in your free time, and keep it on your shelf to come back to; if you want to have access to a Shakespeare Sonnet in one place that also includes: Bill Cosby, Kurt Vonnegut, William Faulkner, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Frost, and dozens you've probably never heard of or given a chance before, then you might want to have this around. If only to put something on that bookshelf with other "reference" books you never get to use, that you may actually be interested in, thereby blending the organizational system in a pleasing way, you might want hold onto Literature and Ourselves.
And that's not even mentioning the wide range of thought-provoking themes and subjects it tackles in order to draw in such an ensemble.

[Lyla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this as a text book for a writing class I took at FLC in 2014. I have kept it because it has a wonderful selection of well known writers included and I return to it periodically to read someone specific. I have not read it cover to cover but we used quite a bit of the material for the class.