Literature and the Arts

What are the origins of American literature?

Link to this answer

CloseClose

Link to this answer

Share this credible answer with others. Simply paste this code into your blog or Web page:

<a href="http://qanda.encyclopedia.com/question/origins-american-literature-79509.html" >What are the origins of American literature?</a>
E-mail this answer Link to this answer

American writing began with the work of English adventurers and colonists in the New World chiefly for the benefit of readers in the mother country. Some of these early works reached the level of literature, as in the robust and perhaps truthful account of his adventures by Captain John Smith and the sober, tendentious journalistic histories of John Winthrop and William Bradford in New England. From the beginning, however, the literature of New England was also directed to the edification and instruction of the colonists themselves, intended to direct them in the ways of the godly.

Answer verified with
Get more facts and information about American literature . Or, view the full encyclopedia entry from The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.

Similar questions: How did American writing begin? What were the influences of the colonial period on American literature? In what ways did the Puritans affect American writing? [ Hide these questions ]

Related research questions

Related research articles

The Origins of African American Literature, 1680-1865.
Magazine article from: African American Review ...Dickson D. Bruce. The Origins of African American Literature, 1680-1865. Charlottesville...appearances in The Origins of African American Literature, but if one were...available in The Origins of African American Literature. Major novels of...
The Origins of African American Literature, 1680-1865.(Book Review)
Magazine article from: Journal of Southern History ...Bruce Jr.'s The Origins of African American Literature, 1680-1865, but...distinctive African American literary persona...authoritative presence in American public discourse...conception of "African American Literature" rejects...interaction among African Americans and ...
The Origins of African-American Literature: 1680-1865.(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: Black Issues Book Review ...believed in the "power of literature to change minds...literary analysis, The Origins of African American...authoritative African-American voice that--using...discussions involving American ideals of liberty and...of the "African-American voice" through its...picture of how African ...
Pillars of Salt, Monuments of Grace: New England Crime Literature and the...
Magazine article from: Journal of Social History ...of criminals. This literature encompassed a wide variety...and low, created this literature. Although the subtitle...study is limited to the origins of popular culture...on New England crime literature, Cohen has sought...historicize the sensational. American crime literature was...
The Esoteric Origins of the American Renaissance.(Book Review)
Magazine article from: Church History The Esoteric Origins of the American Renaissance. By Arthur Versluis...one of the more compelling origin myths of American literature. Characterized by their vatic...Arthur Versluis's Esoteric Origins of the American Renaissance...
See all results at HighBeam

HighBeam gives you access to newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles plus press releases, facts, information, and biographies from thousands of sources.