Glimpses of American Literature (Hardbound - 2020)

The present anthology contains critical articles on well-known American authors whose works are prescribed widely in the Indian Universities. The authors studied in this book are Edgar Allen Poe, Cleanth Brooks, Henry James, Arthur Miller, Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau, Eugene O’Neill, Northrop Frye, Tennessee Williams, Lorraine Hansburry, and Toni Morrison. The book also includes a chapter on Basaveswara (a 12th-century philosopher, statesman, Lingayat saint in the Shiva-focussed Bhakti movement, and social reformer during the reign of the Kalyani Chalukyaru/Kalachuru dynasty of Karnataka) in comparison with Henry David Thoreau. The book has fourteen chapters covering a wide discussion on the significant topics such as poetry, fiction, romance, drama, mysticism, travelogue, autobiography, and tragedy. It tries to kindle the interests of readers to explore the topics and authors in greater depth. Since American Literature is known for the multicultural voices articulated in it and an Indian student of English Literature comes to hear of it mostly at her/his post-graduate level, the book will be useful for post-graduate, doctoral, and post-doctoral students of English Literature.

Dr. Basavaraj Naikar, M.A., Ph.D., D.Litt. (California), UGC Emeritus Fellow, and former Professor and Chairman (Department of English, Karnataka University, Dharwad) is a bilingual writer who writes both in Kannada and English. He also reviews Indian literary works for World Literature Today, Oklahoma, USA, and for many Indian journals regularly. His research interests include Indian English Literature, American Literature, Commonwealth Literature, Anglo-Indian Literature, Shakespeare Studies, Translation Studies, and Comparative Literature. His critical and research articles in English and Kannada have been published in regional, national, and international journals of repute. His English publications include Indian English Literature (9 vols. set), The Sun Behind the Cloud, The Rebellious Rani of Belavadi and Other Stories, Indian Response to Shakespeare, Nirad Chaudhuri: As a Critic of Modern Culture, and Commonwealth Literature: A Kaleidoscopic Vision. His translations from the Kannada into English include Fall of Kalyana, Sangya Balya: A tale of Love and Betrayal, The Vacanas of Sarvajna, The Holy Water, and The Frolic Play of the Lord.