Synopses & Reviews
American novelist E.L. Doctorow once observed that literature andldquo;endows places with meaning.andrdquo; Yet, as this wide-ranging new book vividly illustrates, understanding the places that shaped American writersandrsquo; lives and their art can provide deep insight into what makes their literature truly meaningful.
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Published on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Historic Preservation Act, Writing America is a unique, passionate, and eclectic series of meditations on literature and history, covering over 150 important National Register historic sites, all pivotal to the stories that make up America, from chapels to battlefields; from plantations to immigration stations; and from theaters to internment camps. The book considers not only the traditional sites for literary tourism, such as Mark Twainandrsquo;s sumptuous Connecticut home and the peaceful woods surrounding Walden Pond, but also locations that highlight the diversity of American literature, from the New York tenements that spawned Abraham Cahanandrsquo;s fiction to the Texas pump house that irrigated the fields in which the farm workers central to Gloria Anzaldanduacute;aandrsquo;s poetry picked produce. Rather than just providing a cursory overview of these authorsandrsquo; achievements, acclaimed literary scholar and cultural historian Shelley Fisher Fishkin offers a deep and personal reflection on how key sites bore witness to the struggles of American writers and inspired their dreams. She probes the global impact of American writersandrsquo; innovative art and also examines the distinctive contributions to American culture by American writers who wrote in languages other than English, including Yiddish, Chinese, and Spanish. and#160;and#160;
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Only a scholar with as wide-ranging interests as Shelley Fisher Fishkin would dare to bring together in one book writers as diverse as Gloria Anzaldanduacute;a, Nicholas Black Elk, David Bradley, Abraham Cahan, S. Alice Callahan, Raymond Chandler, Frank Chin, Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Countee Cullen, Frederick Douglass, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Jessie Fauset, William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Allen Ginsberg, Jovita Gonzandaacute;lez, Rolando Hinojosa, Langston Hughes,and#160; Zora Neale Hurston, Lawson Fusao Inada,and#160; James Weldon Johnson,and#160; Erica Jong, Maxine Hong Kingston, Irena Klepfisz, Nella Larsen, Emma Lazarus, Sinclair Lewis, Genny Lim, Claude McKay, Herman Melville, N. Scott Momaday, William Northup, John Okada, Minandeacute; Okubo, Simon Ortiz, Amandeacute;rico Paredes, John P. Parker, Ann Petry, Tomandaacute;s Rivera, Wendy Rose, Morris Rosenfeld, John Steinbeck, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry David Thoreau, Mark Twain, Yoshiko Uchida, Tino Villanueva, Nathanael West, Walt Whitman, Richard Wright, Hisaye Yamamoto, Anzia Yezierska, and Zitkala-andScaron;a.
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Leading readers on an enticing journey across the borders of physical places and imaginative terrains, the book includes over 60 images, and extended excerpts from a variety of literary works. Each chapter ends with resources for further exploration. Writing America reveals the alchemy though which American writers have transformed the world around them into art, changing their world and ours in the process.and#160;
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Literary Landscape
1and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Celebrating the Many in One
Walt Whitman Birthplace, Huntington, Long Island, New York
2and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Living in Harmony with Nature
Walden Pond, Concord, Massachusetts
3and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Freedomandrsquo;s Port
The New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, New Bedford, Massachusetts
4and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The House that Uncle Tomandrsquo;s Cabin Built
Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Hartford, Connecticut
5and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Irony of American History
The Mark Twain Boyhood Home, Hannibal, Missouri, and the Mark Twain House, Hartford, Connecticut
6and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Native American Voices Remember
Wounded Knee, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota
7and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; andldquo;I Know Why the Caged Bird Singsandrdquo;
The Paul Laurence Dunbar House, Dayton, Ohio
8and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Leaving the Old World for the New
The Tenement Museum, New York City
9and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Revolt from the Village
The Original Main Street, Sauk Centre, Minnesota
10and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Asian American Writers and Creativity in Confinement
Angel Island Immigration Station, San Francisco, California, and Manzanar National Historic Site, Independence, California
11and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Harlem and the Flowering of African American Letters
The 135th Street Library / The Schomburg Center for Research on Black Culture, New York City
12and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Mexican American Writers in the Borderlands of Culture
Roma, La Lomita, San Agustin de Laredo, and San Ygnacio Historic Districts, Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas
13and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; American Writers and Dreams of the Silver Screen
Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District, Los Angeles, California
Index of Authors
Index of Historic Sites
Review
and#8220;An unfamiliar facet of a literary giant. . . . Succinctly represents Twain's admiration for the animal kingdom and relentless optimism in the face of human inadequacies.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;A work that can easily be enjoyed by the casual reader of Twain and certainly qualifies as an essential volume for the devoted Twain scholar.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;This collection is as entertaining, visceral, sardonic and chastising as any of his [Twainand#8217;s] major works.and#8221;
Review
"Damn near flawless. . . . The perfect holiday gift-book."--Open Letters Blog
Review
and#8220;Enjoy the tongue-twisting discourse Twain engages in with his two daughters about cats and much more.and#8221;
Review
“Damn near flawless. . . . The perfect holiday gift-book.” Martin Zehr - Kansas City Star
Review
and#8220;Brings together full stories, sketches, and brief passages that demonstrate Twainand#8217;s unique voice, skill as a writer, compassion, and humor. The engravings bring home the directness to Twainand#8217;s prose and add a special sense of wonder to this charming yet sobering book.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Damn near flawless. . . . The perfect holiday gift-book.and#8221;
Review
andquot;Writing America presents us with an exquisitely rendered geography, in word and image alike, of the nationand#39;s diverse literary heritage.andquot;
Review
andquot;Just when you thought you knew American literature, along comes Shelley Fisher Fishkin to show you what youand#39;ve missed . . . and to make you think about it. She ushers us into both familiar and unusual spaces with prose as accessible as it is learned, observations that are clear and sometimes quirky, and quotations that prove the synergy between literature and place. She takes American literature out of the library and relocates it in the public square, revealing its essence as the most eloquent tour guide imaginable.andquot;
Review
andquot;Smartly introduced, lavishly illustrated, and beautifully designed, Writing America treats the reader to sites associated with American authors and puts houses, landmarks, memorials, and museums into a vivid relationship with texts.andquot;
Review
andquot;This absorbing and wondrous book is a glorious cornucopia of Americaand#39;s literary memory. Writing America is necessary, delicious, and nourishing food for the American artist, reader and writer.andquot;
Review
andquot;Shelley Fisher Fishkin is the best guide you could have through American literature and the places that inspired it. She writes like an angel. She appreciates the diversity and humor of the American spirit. Read her!andquot;
Review
andquot;Writing America is a triumph of scholarship and passion, a profound exploration of the many worlds which comprise our national canon . . . a book that redraws the literary map of the United States.andquot;
Review
andquot;This book cuts straight to the soul of America in all its shades and colors. I donand#39;t think anyone has ever put together a book thatandrsquo;s quite so extraordinary.and#160; I certainly have never read one.andquot;
Review
andquot;What a fine, informative, and welcome book by Professor Fishkin. In brief, a first class piece of work that has been long in coming. It not only deserves a warm reception, it is also to be treasured by professionals as well as by beginners.andquot;
Review
andquot;Writing America is designed for those who love not only literature, but also history and landscape, and the conversation they have with one another.and#160; I could not stop reading.andquot;
Review
andquot;Using the National Register of Historic Places as her guide, the author sparks interesting questions regarding how writers influence, and are influenced by, place andhellip; Fishkinand#39;s book offers a diverse look at our nationand#39;s literary landscape and history.andquot;
Synopsis
Longtime admirers of Mark Twain are aware of how integral animals were to his work as a writer, from his first stories through his final years, including many pieces that were left unpublished at his death. This beautiful volume, illustrated with 30 new images by master engraver Barry Moser, gathers writings from the full span of Mark Twainand#8217;s career and elucidates his special attachment to and regard for animals. What may surprise even longtime readers and fans is that Twain was an early and ardent animal welfare advocate, the most prominent American of his day to take up that cause. Edited and selected by Shelley Fisher Fishkin, who has also supplied an introduction and afterword, Mark Twainand#8217;s Book of Animals includes stories that are familiar along with those that are appearing in print for the first time.
Synopsis
"For those unawareand#151;as I was until I read this bookand#151;that Mark Twain was one of America's early animal advocates, Shelley Fisher Fishkin's collection of his writings on animals will come as a revelation. Many of these pieces are as fresh and lively as when they were first written, and it's wonderful to have them gathered in one place." and#151;Peter Singer, author of
Animal Liberation and
The Life You Can Saveand#147;A truly exhilarating work. Mark Twain's animal-friendly views would not be out of place today, and indeed, in certain respects, Twain is still ahead of us: claiming, correctly, that there are certain degraded practices that only humans inflict on one another and upon other animals. Fishkin has done a splendid job: I cannot remember reading something so consistently excellent."and#151;Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, author of When Elephants Weep and The Face on Your Plate
"Shelley Fisher Fishkin has given us the lifelong arc of the great man's antic, hilarious, and subtly profound explorations of the animal world, and she's guided us through it with her own trademark wit and acumen. Dogged if she hasn't." and#151;Ron Powers, author of Dangerous Water: A Biography of the Boy Who Became Mark Twain and Mark Twain: A Life
Synopsis
Writing America takes readers on an eclectic tour of National Register historic sites that have been pivotal to the making of American literature, from churches to battlefields, from plantations to immigration stations. Reflecting the true diversity of the nation and its authors, it explores locations ranging from Harriet Beecher Stoweandrsquo;s stately Connecticut home to the Texas irrigation pumphouse commemorated by Gloria Anzaldanduacute;a, in order to reveal the alchemy though which American writers have transformed their environs into art.
Synopsis
andquot;A book that redraws the literary map of the United States.andquot; andndash; Junot Dandiacute;az
Writing America takes readers on an eclectic tour of historic sites that have been pivotal to the making of American literature, reflecting the true diversity of the nation and its authors. Profusely illustrated, it is the literary gift book for 2015.
About the Author
Shelley Fisher Fishkin is Joseph S. Atha Professor of Humanities, Professor of English and Director of American Studies at Stanford University. She is the author of many books, including Lighting Out for the Territory: Reflections on Mark Twain and American Culture and Was Huck Black? Mark Twain and African-American Voices. She edited Is He Dead?, a new play by Mark Twain, and is also the editor of the 29-volume Oxford Mark Twain. Barry Moser is one of America's foremost wood engravers and is the proprietor of the Pennyroyal Press. Among the books he has illustrated are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Moby Dick, or The Whale, all from UC Press. The Mark Twain Project is housed within the Mark Twain Papers, the world's largest archive of primary materials by this major American writer.