The Cambridge Companion to the Literature of New York (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

Cambridge University Press
Edition: Illustrated, 3/11/2010
EAN 9780521514712, ISBN10: 0521514711

Hardcover, 282 pages, 23.6 x 15.7 x 2 cm
Language: English

New York holds a special place in America's national mythology as both the gateway to the USA and as a diverse, vibrant cultural center distinct from the rest of the nation. From the international atmosphere of the Dutch colony New Amsterdam, through the expansion of the city in the nineteenth century, to its unique appeal to artists and writers in the twentieth, New York has given its writers a unique perspective on American culture. This Companion explores the range of writing and performance in the city, celebrating Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, Edith Wharton, Eugene O'Neill, and Allen Ginsberg among a host of authors who have contributed to the city's rich literary and cultural history. Illustrated and featuring a chronology and guide to further reading, this book is the ideal guide for students of American literature as well as for all who love New York and its writers.

Chronology
Introduction Cyrus R. K. Patell
1. From British outpost to American metropolis Robert Lawson-Peebles
2. Dutch New York from Irving to Wharton Elizabeth L. Bradley
3. The city on stage Bryan Waterman
4. Melville, at sea in the city Thomas Augst
5. Whitman's urbanism Lytle Shaw
6. The early literature of New York's moneyed class Caleb Crain
7. Writing Brooklyn Martha Nadell
8. New York and the novel of manners Sarah Wilson
9. Immigrants, politics and the popular cultures of tolerance Eric Homberger
10. Performing Greenwich Village bohemianism Melissa Bradshaw
11. African American literary movements Thulani Davis
12. New York's cultures of print Trysh Travis
13. From poetry to punk in the East Village Daniel Kane
14. Staging lesbian and gay New York Robin Bernstein
15. Emergent ethnic literatures Cyrus R. K. Patell
Epilogue
Nostalgia and counter-nostalgia in New York City writing Bryan Waterman
Guide to further reading.