A-G Famous American Literature
Ernest Hemingway, Washington Irving, Henry James, Harper Lee…
There are some writers and works which have either been historically influential or become embedded into common consciousness. Working through the alphabet from A-G, these writers or their works have influenced the formation of a nation’s ideals, dreams, and attitudes.
A – Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) is best known as the author of Little Women (1868). The somewhat episodic novel about four sisters growing up during the American Civil War is rooted in both Alcott’s own childhood experiences and Pilgrim’s Progress (1678). Little Women, now normally published in one volume coupled with the chapters from its sequel Good Wives (1869), has become a commonly read book among young girls. The stories of the sisters are also continued in the less often read Little Men (1871) and Jo’s Boys (1886).
B – Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (1888-1989) was one of the few Tin Pan Alley songwriters to write both music and lyrics. Composing numerous stage and screen scores, he wrote over 3,000 songs, many of which, including God Bless America, have become indelibly linked to the collective consciousness of Americans.
C – Come Blow Your Horn by Neil Simon
Come Blow Your Horn (1961) was the first play by Neil Simon to be staged on Broadway. Since, Simon has written multiple hits such as Barefoot In The Park (1963), The Odd Couple (1965), Plaza Suite (1968), Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983) and many others.
D – The Declaration of Independence
Although a relatively short document, the words and ideas expressed have been the foundation for much of the principles of the United States of America. Chiefly authored by Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence (1776) asserted the independence of the American Colonies from Great Britain, and it was influenced by prior works of the Enlightenment such as Thomas Paine’s Common Sense (1776).
Other writings which are significant in the formation of American ideals are The Constitution and The Federalist Papers, essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay.
E – T.S. Eliot
Although living much of his life in England, Thomas Sterns Eliot (1888-1965) was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He studied at Harvard and Oxford. He is most famous as a poet, utilizing the method of “stream of consciousness” writing, which is prominent in his most famous work, The Waste Land (1922)
F – Fireside Poets
Fireside Poets are also sometimes known as Schoolroom Poets, and the names refer to the poets’ coherence to standard poetic form, regulated meter, and rhyming stanzas, rendering their poems suitable for schoolroom memorization. The poems were also a popular form of entertainment for families seated by the “fireside” at home. The fireside poets are thought to comprise the nineteenth century work of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Cullen Bryant, John Greenleaf Whittier, James Russell Lowell, and Oliver Wendell Holmes.
G – Ira Gershwin
Commonly working as the lyricist for the musical compositions of his brother George, Ira Gershwin (1896-1983) wrote the words to many famous popular songs, such as Someone To Watch Over Me, also writing many lyrics after the death of his brother. The final collaboration of the Gershwin Brothers was the popular song Our Love is Here to Stay, the lyrics of which were being written by Ira at the time of George’s early death.
H-N Guide to Famous American Literature
The guide of writers and their works continues with H-N Famous American Literature. Henry James, Herman Melville, Harper Lee, and many others influence thoughts and storytelling with their own forms of fiction.
The New England of Little Women
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