Author Description

Adapted for the Canadian market, this anthology designed for students in introductory courses provides selections from three major forms of literature: fiction, poetry, and drama. This revised edition updates writers previously included and also presents selections from writers new to the anthology, such as John Milton, Alexander Pope, Thomas Hardy, E.J. Pratt, Elizabeth Bishop, and Margaret Avison, fiction writers Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, Sinclair Ross, and Bharati Mukherjee, and playwrights Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Oscar Wile, Edward Albee, and Sharon Pollock. The works of fiction range from fables to realism, representing authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Sherwood Anderson, John Cheever, Anton Chekhov, H.G.Wells, John Barth, Sheila Watson, Alice Munro, and Mavis Gallant. The poetry section contains a selection of ballads, and four or more works by British, American, and Canadian poets, ranging from Shakespeare to contemporary poets such as; Robert Lowell, Adrienne Rich, Earle Birney, P.K. Page, and Margaret Atwood. The plays include George Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara; Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie; Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape; and George Ryga's The Ecstasy of Rita Joe. In addition to its rich choices, it offers a survey of the historical development of each gene, brief biographies of each author, lively introductions, and critical remarks, providing a coherent, consistent perspective, one both contemporary and innovative.