Literary legacies of the Federal Writers' Project : voices of the Depression in the American postwar era
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Bibliographic Information
Literary legacies of the Federal Writers' Project : voices of the Depression in the American postwar era
（American literature readings in the 21st century）（Palgrave pivot）
Palgrave Macmillan, c2017
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Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
The first book-length literary analysis of the WPA's Federal Writers' Project (FWP)-a massive New Deal program that put thousands to work documenting the country during the Depression. Drawing on critical histories, archival documents, and select works of fiction, the book examines the nature and history of the FWP's documentary method and its literary imprint, particularly on three key black American writers: Ralph Ellison, Dorothy West, and Margaret Walker. By aiming their documentary lenses so precisely on individual voices, folklore, and cultural communities, FWP writers would ultimately eschew the social realism of thirties culture in favor of themes surrounding personal and cultural identities in the postwar era. This concise volume demonstrates how the FWP served as a repository from which many of the most treasured 20th century writers drew material, techniques, and philosophical direction in ways that would help steer the course of American writing.
Table of Contents
- .- Introduction: A Literary Venture, Sidestepped.- Pioneering a New Literary Form.- From Politics to Personalism: A Historical Perspective.- Ralph Ellison: Capturing the Idiom.- Beyond Hurston and Wright
- Toward West and Walker.- Conclusion: Forging a Critical Path: Other Considerations for Pursuing the FWP's Literary Legacies.
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