Contemporary American Literature: (1945-Present) (Background to American Literature)

This volume focuses on a variety of topics, from the violence of war and the struggle for civil rights to the social impact of technology and the moral significance of money. A concise, engaging guide to American contemporary literature, this volume provides information on late-20th century writers; the 1950s, '60s, and beyond; contemporary American poetry; new voices; and the postmodern movement.

Topics include:

• Post-World War II and Vietnam War literature
• New Journalism
• Beat literature and existentialism
• The rise of ethnic and minority literature
• The Civil Rights movement
• Postmodernism
• Confessional poetry and poetry of witness
• and more.

Writers covered include:

• Raymond Carver
• Sandra Cisneros
• Ralph Ellison
• Robert Frost
• Norman Mailer
• N. Scott Momaday
• Toni Morrison
• Sylvia Plath
• Thomas Pynchon
• Adrienne Rich
• J.D. Salinger
• Kurt Vonnegut
• Tom Wolfe
• and many others.