The Writing of America: Literature and Cultural Identity from the Puritans to the Present.(Book Review)

The Writing of America: Literature and Cultural Identity from the Puritans to the Present, by Geoff Ward. Cambridge and Malden, Massachusetts, Polity Press, 2002. vii, 235 pp. $64.95 US (cloth), $24.95 US (paper).

This is not a good book. Nevertheless, it has some value for historians. It provides some interesting twists on a familiar argument, useful information on some writers and books, and it reminds one of some of the pitfalls in writing cultural history.

The title might suggest a broader account than really appears. This is not an overview of American literature. It is very selective in its treatment, and often idiosyncratic. The writers chosen for discussion include some obvious ones, such as Emerson, Melville, and William Carlos Williams. Yet George Lippard, John Wieners, and …