Famous American Writers

8/20/2019 Famous American Writers

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Famous

American

writers A nja Karadzic graf 41


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• Like other national literatures, American literature wasshaped by the history of the country that produced it. Foralmost a century and a half, America was merely a group ofcolonies scattered along the eastern seaboard of the North

American continent—colonies from which a few hardy soulstentatively ventured westward. After a successful rebellionagainst the motherland, America became the United tates, anation. !y the end of the "#th century this nation e$tendedsouthward to the %ulf of &e$ico, northward to the '#th

parallel, and westward to the (acific. !y the end of the "#thcentury, too, it had taken its place among the powers of the world—its fortunes so interrelated with those of other nationsthat inevitably it became involved in two world wars and,following these conflicts, with the problems of )urope and

)ast Asia. &eanwhile, the rise of science and industry, as wellas changes in ways of thinking and feeling, wrought manymodifications in people*s lives. All these factors in thedevelopment of the United tates molded the literature of thecountry.


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!en+amin Franklin"-/0"-#1• Franklin was a man of many talents, one of which was a talent

for presenting himself as a man of many talents. 2e was amaster of the humble brag, and his Autobiography "-#"1 is amonument to false modesty—the story of a poor boy whohustles his way up with hard work and an insatiable desire for

self0improvement to a position of enormous power andprestige. 2is folksy, practical, unpretentious American was a brilliant literary invention, and one that still looms large inour public life. )very successful politician learns toimpersonate it at some point.


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3ashington 4rving"-560"57#1• 4rving was the first American author to make a decent

living. 8ne day soon, when the 4nternet finally finisheskilling the vocation of American authorship, we can dateits birth from 4rving*s career. 2e possessed greatmarketing prowess, and a nimble style that spanned

many genres9 humor and horror, biography andtravelogue. 2e both satisfied and satiri:ed the youngnation*s hunger for a mythic past in his History of NewYork "5#1, and turned the 2udson ;alley into a land of%othic enchantment in his Sketch Book, which includeshis two most famous stories, and


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&ark ?wain"5670"#"1

• &ark ?wain grew up listening to voices. ?he voices of slaves,

boatmen, gamblers00the many strains of spoken )nglishthat infused the bustling &issouri frontier of his childhood,and inspired in him a lifelong love for the vernacular varieties of the American tongue. 2e ventrilo@ui:ed these voices in his writing, and used them to become the supremeartist of everyday American life00the in the words of his great friend and champion 3illiam ean 2owells.

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3390/pg3390.htmlhttp://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3390/pg3390.html


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)rnest 2emingway"5##0"#/"1

• Ernest Miller Hemingway was an Americannovelist, short story writer, and +ournalist. 2iseconomical and understated style had a stronginfluence on Bth0century fiction, while his life ofadventure and his public image influenced later

generations. 2emingway produced most of his work between the mid0"#Bs and the mid0"#7s,and won the Nobel (ri:e in Literature in "#7'. 2epublished seven novels, si$ short story collections,and two non0fiction works. Additional works,

including three novels, four short storycollections, and three non0fiction works, werepublished posthumously. &any of his works areconsidered classics of American literature.


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)mily ickinson"560"55/1

8f the almost eighteen hundred poems that)mily ickinson wrote over the course ofher cloistered life in Amherst, only around" ever appeared in print in her lifetime. Acruel +oke, when one considers how much

awful poetry was published during thesame span. !loviators like 2enry 3adsworth Longfellow became nationalicons while ickinson died an unknown.Collections of her verse began to appearafter her death, and her stature slowly rose.

he now gets the respect she deserves9 as apioneer who, along with 3alt 3hitman,helped push American poetry out of itsgenteel decrepitude and into a moresatisfyingly modern mode.


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James Fenimore Cooper(1789-181!

Cooper helped establish the

3estern frontier as a fertilesetting for fiction.2is LeatherstockingTales "5B-0"5'"1 feature thememorably named Natty!umppo, a white frontiersmanraised by Native Americans whofuses his )uropean and 4ndianhalves into a gun0toting,moccasin0clad hybrid. Cooper*sgenteel style earned him

many haters, but whatever hisliterary merits, he proved themythic potential of the frontier,and showed how itsintercultural collisions helped

forge a new American identity.


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J" #" $a%inger(1919-&'1'!

•

Derome avid alinger was an American writer who wonacclaim early in life. 2e led a very private life for more than ahalf0century. 2e published his final original work in "#/7 andgave his last interview in "#5. alinger was raisedin &anhattan and began writing short stories while in

secondary school. everal were published in Story maga:ine

inthe early "#'s before he began serving in 3orld 3ar 44. 4n"#'5, his critically acclaimed story EA (erfect ay for!ananafishE appeared in The New Yorker maga:ine, which became home to much of his later work. 4n "#7", his novel The

Catcher in the Rye was an immediate popular success. 2isdepiction of adolescent alienation and loss of innocence in theprotagonist 2olden Caulfield was influential, especially amongadolescent readers.emains widely read and controversial


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Dack London"5-/0"#"/1

John Griffith London was an American author, +ournalist, and social activist. A pioneer in the then0 burgeoning world of commercial maga:ine fiction, he was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwidecelebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone. rawing on his e$periences as a sailor, gold prospectorand adventurer, an Francisco0born London wrote aprofusion of stirring stories, including tales aboutcanines in the fro:en North and voyages on the highseas in his best0selling novels9 The Call of the Wil ,"#6 The Sea!Wolf , "#' and White "ang, "#/.


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o)ert Frost(1874-19*+!

• !orn in an Francisco, the four0time (ulit:er (ri:e winner wrote much of his poetry about rural New)ngland. ome of his best0known poems—>After Apple0(icking,>


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Nathaniel 2awthorne "5'0"5/'1

• 3as an American novelist and short story writer. 2awthorneGs works belong to romanticism or, more specifically, darkromanticism, cautionary tales that suggest that guilt, sin, and evilare the most inherent natural @ualities of humanity.&any of his

works are inspired by (uritan New )ngland, combining historicalromance loaded with symbolism and deep psychological themes, bordering on surrealism.2is depictions of the past are a version ofhistorical fiction used only as a vehicle to e$press common themesof ancestral sin, guilt and retribution. Hnown for his stories aboutsin, guilt and witchcraft in (uritan New )ngland, the alem,&ass.0born 2awthorne is revered for his "56- short storycollection, Twice!Tol Tales his "57 masterpiece The Scarlet

Letter and the "57" classic The House of the Se#en $ables.


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2erman &elville"5"#0"5#"1•

was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet fromthe American =enaissance period. &ost of his writings were published between "5'/ and "57-. !est known for hissea adventure Typee "5'/1 and his whaling novel %oby!

&ick "57"1, he was almost forgotten during the last thirty

years of his life. &elvilleGs writing draws on his e$perienceat sea as a common sailor, e$ploration of literature andphilosophy, and engagement in the contradictions of

American society in a period of rapid change. ?he maincharacteristic of his style is probably pervasive allusion,reflecting his written sources. &elvilleGs way of adapting

what he read for his own new purposes, scholar tanley ?. 3illiams wrote, Ewas a transforming power comparable tohakespeareGsE.


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&argaret &itchell "#0"#'#1

• was an American author and +ournalist. 8ne novel by &itchell was published during her lifetime,the American Civil 3ar0era novel, $one with theWin , for which she won the National !ook

Award for &ost istinguished Novel of "#6/I"J andthe (ulit:er (ri:e for Fiction in "#6-. 4n more recent years, a collection of &itchellGs girlhood writings anda novella she wrote as a teenager, Lost Laysen, have

been published. A collection of articles written by&itchell for The Atlanta 'ournal was republished in book form.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Mitchellhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Mitchell


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)dgar Allan (oe "5#0"5'#1

• was an American writer, editor, and literarycritic. (oe is best known for his poetry and shortstories, particularly his tales of mystery and

the macabre. A literary critic in his time, !oston0 born (oe may have been the nation*s firstpublished horror, mystery and science fiction writer. (oe wrote eerie, grim and cryptic tales

e$emplified in his "56# short story


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Dohn teinbeck "#B0"#/51

• was an American author of twenty0seven books,including si$teen novels, si$ non0fiction books, andfive collections of short stories. 2e is widely knownfor the comic novels Tortilla "lat "#671and Cannery Row "#'71, the multi0generationepic (ast of (en "#7B1, and the novellas )f %icean %en "#6-1 and The Re *ony "#6-1. A nativeof alinas, Calif., the Nobel (ri:e0 and (ulit:er (ri:e0 winning author captured the social conscience of thenation with his captivating stories about California*s various ethnic and immigrant groups, migrant workers and displaced sharecroppers.


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2enry avid ?horeau"5"-0"5/B1

American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, ta$ resister,development critic, surveyor,and historian. A leading transcendentalist, ?horeauis best known for his book Walen, a reflectionupon simple living in natural surroundings, and hisessay Resistance to Ci#il $o#ern+ent also knownas Ci#il &isobeience1, an argument fordisobedience to an un+ust state.


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3alt 3hitman "5"#0"5#B1

• 3as an American poet, essayist and +ournalist. Ahumanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism,incorporating both views in his works. !est

known for Lea#es of $rass, his )merson0inspired "577 poetry collection, and his "5/7poem about theassassination of (resident Abraham Lincoln.


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F. cott Fit:gerald "5#/0"#'1

• 3as an American novelist and short story writer, whose work are paradigmatic writings of the Da:: Age. 2e is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writersof the Bth century. Fit:gerald is considered a member of

the of the "#Bs. 2e finished fournovels 9 This Sie of *araise, The Beautiful an &a+ne , The $reat $atsby his best known1,and Tener ,s the Night . A fifth, unfinished novel,The

Lo#e of the Last Tycoon, was published posthumously.Fit:gerald also wrote numerous short stories, many of which treat themes of youth and promise, and age anddespair.


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,i%%a Cater (187+-1947!

• 3as an American author who achievedrecognition for her novels of frontier lifeon the %reat (lans, including ) *ioneers-"#"61, The Song of the Lark"#"71, and %y .ntonia "#"51. 4n "#B6 she wasawarded the (ulit:er (ri:e on )ne of

)urs"#BB1, a novel set during 3old 3ar4.

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Famous American Writers