18th Century

• Almanacs:
  • Popular for weather forecasts, calendars, and household advice.
  • Notable Work: Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac (1732-1758)

19th Century

• James Fenimore Cooper:
  • Famous for books about Native Americans and pioneers.
  • Notable Work: The Last of the Mohicans (1826)
• Edgar Allan Poe:
  • Poetry: The Raven (1845)
    • His most famous poem about a young man questioning a raven about lost love, emphasizing despair with the refrain “Nevermore.”
  • Detective Stories:
    • The Murders in the Rue Morgue
    • The Purloined Letter
  • Short Stories:
    • The Pit and the Pendulum
    • The Black Cat
    • The Fall of the House of Usher
• Nathaniel Hawthorne:
  • Focused on the dark sides of human character.
  • Notable Work: The Scarlet Letter (1850)
    • Centers on Hester Prynne, who must wear a scarlet letter “A” for adultery after having an illegitimate child.
• Herman Melville:
  • Used his experiences as a sailor for his writings.
  • Notable Work: Moby Dick (1851)
    • Describes an obsessive hunt for a white whale.
• Mark Twain:
  • Wrote funny, satirical stories.
  • Notable Work: The Gilded Age (1873)
    • Gave the name to the period after the Civil War; a bitter satire on greed and political corruption.
  • Best-Known Books:
    • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) – Stories and adventures of a young boy, Tom, living with his aunt Polly.
    • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) – Stories of Huckleberry Finn and Jim, a runaway slave.
• Walt Whitman:
  • Used free verse, was very open about humans and sexuality.
  • Notable Work: Leaves of Grass (1855) – His most famous poetry collection.
• Jack London:
  • Became very popular with readers worldwide.
  • Notable Works:
    • The Call of the Wild (1903) – About Buck, a sled dog who becomes the leader of a wolf pack after leaving civilization.
    • White Fang – A sequel to The Call of the Wild.

20th Century

• John Steinbeck:
  • Notable Work: The Grapes of Wrath – Describes the depression following the crisis of 1929.
  • Other Works:
    • East of Eden
    • Of Mice and Men
• The Lost Generation:
  • A group of writers influenced by WWI, struggling to settle down after returning home.
  • Described feelings of disillusionment, loss of identity, and mistrust toward society.
• Ernest Hemingway:
  • Best-known author of the Lost Generation.
  • Awards: Received a Nobel Prize in 1954 for The Old Man and the Sea.
  • Notable Works:
    • A Farewell to Arms
    • For Whom the Bell Tolls
  • Served as a Red Cross driver in WWI and was badly injured.
  • Committed suicide in 1961 (most likely).
• Francis Scott Fitzgerald:
  • Notable Work: The Great Gatsby – A love story between Jay Gatsby and Daisy, representing Fitzgerald’s wife, Zelda; explores the American Dream of wealth and success.
• The Beat Generation (around 1950s):
  • A group of writers critical of the commercial and conventional world.
  • Explored new experiences through drugs, music, and Eastern mysticism.
• Notable Writers:
  • Allen Ginsberg: Howl and Other Poems
  • Jack Kerouac: On the Road – Describing his road trip across America.
  • Tennessee Williams: A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
  • Jerome David Salinger: The Catcher in the Rye
  • Ken Kesey: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
  • John Irving: The World According to Garp
  • Toni Morrison: The Bluest Eye, Beloved