The Literature of California, Volume 1: Native American Beginnings to 1945

by Al Young, Jack Hicks (Editor), James D. Houston (Editor)

The Literature of California is a landmark publication―unmatched by any existing collection and distinguished by its breadth, variety of sources, and historical sweep. The editors have been refreshingly inclusive and imaginative in their some of the writers are internationally known, others are anthologized here for the first time. The richness of material, ranging from Native American origin myths to Hollywood novels dissecting the American Dream; from the familiar voices of John Steinbeck, Jack London, and William Saroyan to the less-well-known narratives of Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton, Josephine Miles, and Jade Snow Wong―all of it captures the spirit and scope of the state itself.

This first volume of the comprehensive two-volume anthology is divided into four parts. The first includes stories, legends, and songs of the indigenous tribes. The second section comprises letters, diaries, reports, and travel narratives that trace a century of exploration, discovery, and conquest. Part III includes Mother Lode tales by Mark Twain and Bret Harte, the first signs of California poetry, the rise of narrative by California women, the nature writing of John Muir and Mary Austin, and some of the earliest prose from writers of Asian background, as well as the maturing fiction of Jack London and Frank Norris. Part IV traces the period between the World Wars, when California literature came fully into its own.

A lively introduction contextualizes each section, and concise biographical material is included for each writer. Volume Two, to be published in 2007, concentrates on the second half of the twentieth-century, during which California became one of the most active literary regions in the world. A colossal contribution to the culture of the state, The Literature of California broadens our sense of this region's richness, both past and present, offering new ways of perceiving history, community, and oneself.

Genres: Fiction

870 pages, Paperback

First published November 5, 2000

Reviews

[Kayleigh Birch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sure have read a lot about this place.

[Byrd Alyssa]

A wide assortment of writers have called California home at one point or another, and the stories in this anthology reflect the amazing diversity of perspective and experience of the residents from the period of the first Indigenous Californians oral histories. This is a great historical tour of California beginning with tribal stories and moving into the Spanish and then Mexican era's, and through 1945. There are stories from Native groups such as Costanoan, Chumash, Maidu, Yuki, Paiute to Karuk, Yurok and many more. There are also reknowned authors represented such as Mark Twain, John Steinback, Robert Louis Stevenson, Upton Sinclair, and Jack London as well as important stories such as Jade Snow Songs Fifth Chinese Daughter, and short stories of Toshio Mori. This is an important collection and gives a special perspective into both Californian and American history.

[Lee Desser · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of people manage to write pages about a lake or a desert. California writers could not compare to east coast writers until early 1900's. Check out Joaquin Murieta (p.163), Celebrated Jumping Frog (p.206), Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze (p.460) I'm pumped about Martin Eden.
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