The Viking Portable Library American Literature Survey: Colonial and Federal to 1800

by Milton R. Stern (Editor), Seymour L. Gross (Editor)

This book is in good condition.

652 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

Reviews

[Will Cadle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This third volume of a four-volume set covers significant writers of the Colonial and Federal period. As I've pointed out regarding another of these anthologies, any or all of the volumes would've been an excellent teaching tool for university-level English courses, and that was probably the intent. My set was donated to me by an English professor when he was clearing out his office (my edition was updated in 1968). I've been steadily going through each volume and selecting any material I have not already read, which, in some cases, is a lot or a little depending on the volume. The hope -- and reward -- of this endeavor is to discover new works and/or new authors I've not previously read. For me, of all the volumes, this compilation is the driest; there's something ponderously Puritanical in both tone and theme that I find -- well, if not off-putting at least "rigidly controlled" (as aptly put by the editors). Writers such as Cotton Mather, Jonathan Edwards, Anne Bradstreet, et alia, seem determined to suck the joy out of everything either because they are desperate themselves for any marrow in the bones or that they believe joy should be eradicated from the lexicon of life (I'm not sure which, but I lean towards the latter). Don't let my prejudice deter you, though. If you encounter any of these authors, please don't dismiss them; there's merit in their writing. I don't mean to suggest they aren't worth the read, but if you're like me you will probably want to purge yourself either before or after reading them.