The Literary Experience, Compact Edition

Rather than focusing first on terms or definitions, THE LITERARY EXPERIENCE, Compact Edition helps you develop the skills that make literature accessible, organizing the book and beginning each discussion by asking the same questions that students ask themselves when they read a text, such as "What is happening here?" or "Is there some other story that we're supposed to know?" With THE LITERARY EXPERIENCE, you'll learn all of the literary terms you need to share your experience while you engage in the poems, stories, and plays.

Bruce Beiderwell completed his Ph.D. in 1985 and since then has taught a wide range of composition and literature courses. He has published articles and reviews on 19th century fiction and detective fiction. His book, POWER AND PUNISHMENT IN SCOTT'S NOVELS (University of Georgia Press, 1992), was nominated in 1993 for the McVities Prize, an award given to the best book of the year on a Scottish subject. Beiderwell is now director of UCLA Writing Programs.

Jeff Wheeler serves as chair of the English department at Long Beach City College in Long Beach, California, where he also teaches a wide variety of literature and composition courses. He has taught at UCLA, Pepperdine, and USC, where he earned his doctorate in English. His work in literature of the English Reformation has earned him places in two seminars sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities.