Paperback Books by Linda Wagner-Martin

A reading of the oeuvre of Toni Morrison—fiction, non-fiction, and other—drawing extensively from her many interviews as well as her primary texts, Toni Morrison: A Literary Life, second edition provides an overview of Morrison’s intellectual growth as an artist. Linda Wagner-Martin aligns Morrison''s novels with the works of Virginia Woolf and William Faulkner, assessing her works as among the most innovative, and most significant, worldwide, of the past fifty plus years. The revised edition includes new discussion of God Help the Child, The Origin of Others, and The Source of Self-Regard. These additions present and intensify scholarship on Morrison’s major literary contributions, but also trace her significant role as a public intellectual, bringing to light the consistency of Morrison’s aesthetic and political visions.

Ernest Hemingway: A Literary Life includes new research on the best-known of the posthumous publications: A Moveable Feast, 1964 (and the 2009 A Moveable Feast: The Restored Edition); Islands in the Stream, 1970; and The Garden of Eden, 1986. Linda Wagner-Martin provides background and intertextual readings—particularly of the way Hemingway’s unpublished stories (“Phillip Haines was a writer”) and his fiction from Men Without Women and Winner Take Nothing interface with the memoir. The revised edition also highlights and provides background on Hemingway’s treatment of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein, his life in Paris in the 1920s, and his connection to the poetry scene there—putting this in conversation with Mary Hemingway’s edits of A Moveable Feast. The new chapters also illuminate the reception of Islands in the Stream and a new way of understanding the role of gender and androgyny in The Garden of Eden. On a whole, the book draws from extensive archival research, particularly correspondence of all four of Hemingway’s wives.

THE LIFE OF THE AUTHOR MAYA ANGELOU DISCOVER THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF MAYA ANGELOU WITH A HIGHLY PERSONAL AND DETAILED ACCOUNT OF HER CHALLENGES AND TRIUMPHS The Life of the Author: Maya Angelou delivers an engaging and thorough retelling of the life and work of the celebrated and accomplished writer, director, and essayist. The book offers readers an engrossing retelling of Maya Angelou’s entire life, from her time as a child in the segregated town of Stamps, Arkansas, to her death in 2014 in Winston-Salem. Written with an emphasis on accessibility, the author avoids critical theory and focuses on Maya Angelou’s growth as a person and writer as well as the ways in which her life influenced her work. This new biography tells the story of a young black woman who overcomes poverty and endemic structural and personal obstacles to lead an accomplished life. Readers will also enjoy: A thorough retelling of the time Maya Angelou spent in Africa and how it shaped her views and work An exploration of the screenplays written by Maya Angelou Discussions of Maya Angelou’s early life as a dancer, singer, and writer Accounts of Maya Angelou’s writing and production of television shows A fulsome treatment of Maya Angelou’s work, including her poems, autobiographies, films, music, and theatre Perfect for undergraduate students in Contemporary Literature courses as well as general readers who love Maya Angelou and her work, The Life of the Author: Maya Angelou will also earn a place in the libraries of biography and literature enthusiasts who seek to improve their understanding of the life and story of Maya Angelou with a highly personal and accessible new book.

Walt Whitman: A Literary Life highlights two major influences on Whitman’s poetry and life: the American Civil War and his economic condition. Linda Wagner-Martin performs a close reading of many of Whitman’s poems, particularly his Civil War work (in Drum-Taps) and those poems written during the last twenty years of his life. Wagner-Martin’s study also emphasizes the near-poverty that Whitman experienced. Starting with his early career as a printer and journalist, the book moves to the publication of Leaves of Grass, and his cultivation of the persona of the “working-class” writer. In addition to establishing Whitman’s attention to the Civil War through journalism and memoirs, the book takes the approach of following Whitman’s life through his poems. Utilizing contemporary perspectives on class, Wagner-Martin provides a new reading of Whitman’s economic situation. This is an accessibly written synthesis of Whitman’s publication history bringing attention to under-studied aspects of his writing.

The Routledge Introduction to American Postmodernism offers readers a fresh, insightful overview to all genres of postmodern writing. Drawing on a variety of works from not only mainstream authors but also those that are arguably unconventional, renowned scholar Linda Wagner-Martin gives the reader a solid framework and foundation to reading, understanding, and appreciating postmodern literature since its inception through the present day.

This is a study of the ways various kinds of injury and trauma affected Ernest Hemingway’s life and writing, from the First World War through his suicide in 1961. Linda Wagner-Martin has written or edited more than sixty books including Ernest Hemingway, A Literary Life. She is Frank Borden Hanes Professor Emerita at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and a winner of the Jay B. Hubbell Medal for Lifetime Achievement.

The modernist period was crucial for American literature as it gave writers the chance to be truly innovative and create their own distinct identity. Starting slightly earlier than many guides to modernism this lucid and comprehensive guide introduces the reader to the essential history of the period including technology, religion, economy, class, gender and immigration. These contexts are woven of into discussions of many significant authors and texts from the period. Wagner-Martin brings her years of writing about American modernism to explicate poetry and drama as well as fiction and life-writing. Among the authors emphasized are Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Willa Cather, John Dos Passos, William Carlos Williams, Mike Gold, James T. Farrell, Clifford Odets, John Steinbeck and countless others. A clear and engaging introduction to an exciting period of literature, this is the ultimate guide for those seeking an overview of American Modernism.

The History of American Literature from 1950 to the Present offers a comprehensive analysis of the wide range of literary works that extends into the 21st century Covers drama, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, science fiction, and detective novels Features discussion of American works within the context of such 21st-century issues as globalization, medicine, gender, education, and other topics

A comprehensive study of the novels, stories, essays and poetry of American author Barbara Kingsolver.

A revised and updated edition of a comprehensive biographical and critical reading of the works of American poet and memoirist Maya Angelou (1928-2014). Linda Wagner-Martin covers all six of Angelou''s autobiographies, as well as her essay and poetry collections, whilst also exploring Angelou''s life as an African American in the United States, her career as stage and film performer, her thoughtful participation in the Civil Rights actions of the 1960s, and her travels abroad in Egypt, Africa, and Europe. In her discussion of Angelou''s methods of writing her stunning autobiography, which began with the 1970 publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Wagner-Martin writes about the influences of the Harlem Writers Group (led by James Baldwin, Paule Marshall, and John O. Killens) as well as Angelou''s significant friendships with Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and other leaders from both international and African American United States cultures. Crucial concepts throughout include the role of oral traditions, of song and dance, of the spiritualism of art based on religious belief, of Angelou''s voiced rhythms and her polished use of dialogue to convey more abstract “meaning.” Wagner-Martin shows that, viewing herself as a global citizen, Angelou never lost her spirit of adventure and discovery as well as her ability to overcome. Named an Outstanding Academic Title of the Year by Choice in 2015, this new edition includes two new chapters on Angelou''s connections to Africa and on her final years.

Linda Wagner-Martin''s Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is a twenty-first century story. Using cultural and gender studies as contexts, Wagner-Martin brings new information to the story of the Alabama judge''s daughter who, at seventeen, met her husband-to-be, Scott Fitzgerald. Swept away from her stable home life into Jazz Age New York and Paris, Zelda eventually learned to be a writer and a painter; and she came close to being a ballerina. An evocative portrayal of a talented woman''s professional and emotional conflicts, this study contains extensive notes and new photographs.

This book aims to both describe and analyze the way Steinbeck learned the writing craft. It begins with his immersion in the short story, some years after he stopped attending Stanford University. Aside from a weak first novel, his professional writing career began with the publication in 1932 of The Pastures of Heaven, stories set in the Salinas Valley and dedicated to his parents. From that book he wrote truly commanding stories such as The Red Pony. Intermixed with Steinbeck’s journalism about California’s labor difficulties, his writing skill led to his 1930 masterpieces, Of Mice and Men, In Dubious Battle, and The Grapes of Wrath. The latter novel, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1940, led eventually to his being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. He continued producing such wide-ranging works as The Pearl, East of Eden, The Winter of Our Discontent, and Travels with Charley up to just a few months before his death in 1968.

Linda Wagner-Martin''s emphasis in this study is the way Sylvia Plath made herself into a writer. In keeping with the critic''s early ground-breaking work on American poet William Carlos Williams, she here studies elements of Plath''s work with dedication to discussions of style and effect. Her close analysis of Plath''s reading and her apprenticeship writing both in fiction and poetry sheds considerable light into Plath''s work in the late 1960s. The book concludes with a section assessing Sylvia Plath''s current standing.

This biography contains anecdotes and details about Gertrude Stein''s exchanges on art, life, food and literature with luminaries such as Hemingway, Matisse, Juan Gris, Picasso, Virgil Thompson and many others. Incidents are retold and bolstered by primary sources. The author provides an understanding of the style and substances of Stein''s works and life, emphasizing Stein''s social genius. The book introduces familial and domestic detail, not only enhancing Stein''s significance as an artist and cultural critic, but also presenting her anew. It contains previously unavailable material, from family papers, letters and archives.

Linda Wagner-Martin''s study of African American writer Toni Morrison''s work, beginning with <Iu003eThe Bluest Eye in 1970 and continuing through her 2012 novel <Iu003eHome, describes Morrison as an inherently original novelist who was shaped throughout her career by her role within families. Morrison speaks of herself, compellingly and frequently, as daughter, sister, wife, mother, mentor, and friend. The energy from playing these roles in her life helped to lead to her thoroughly distinctive fiction. The book charts Morrison''s changing vision as well. Morrison''s deeper and deeper involvement in the history of African Americans within the United States leads to her study of the urban in <Iu003eJazz, of the all-black Western towns in <Iu003eParadise, of the upper-middle class in <Iu003eLove, as well as her poignant study of the returning Korean War veteran in <Iu003eHome. Morrison''s 2008 <Iu003eA Mercy, set in the seventeenth century, reprises much of the power of the prize-winning <Iu003eBeloved and returns readers to the quintessential theme of parent-child relationships. In Morrison''s fictional world, drawing from the human and spiritual forces in both Africa and the United States provides some hope of a truly satisfying existence.

The author looks at dozens of life stories, probing at the differences between biographies of men and women, prevailing stereotypes about women''s lives and roles, questions about what is public and private, and the hazy margins between autobiography, biography, and other genres.

This Reader''s Guide is an ideal starting point for students wanting a clear introduction to Plath''s life. It studies her relationship with Ted Hughes and his influence on her poetry and its reception and gives close guidance on reading her poetry focusing particularly on the most commonly studied groups of poems. It includes a survey of Plath''s critical reception and a guide to further reading.

Provides information on Ernest Hemingway''s life and accomplishments, and thoroughly examines the popular "Farewell to Arms," offering a plot summary, themes, character analysis, and reception and criticism of the novel.

Continuum Contemporaries will be a wonderful source of ideas and inspiration for members of book clubs and readings groups, as well as for literature students.The aim of the series is to give readers accessible and informative introductions to 30 of the most popular, most acclaimed, and most influential novels of recent years. A team of contemporary fiction scholars from both sides of the Atlantic has been assembled to provide a thorough and readable analysis of each of the novels in question. The books in the series will all follow the same structure:a biography of the novelist, including other works, influences, and, in some cases, an interview; a full-length study of the novel, drawing out the most important themes and ideas; a summary of how the novel was received upon publication; a summary of how the novel has performed since publication, including film or TV adaptations, literary prizes, etc.; a wide range of suggestions for further reading, including websites and discussion forums; and a list of questions for reading groups to discuss.

A critical study of American fiction in the first half of the twentieth century.

From the heart of the Great Depression to the turbulent 1960s, the mid-century in America was a vibrant literary era. Linda Wagner-Martins comprehensive study encompasses the political literature that flourished in the 1930s, the beat movement of the 1950s, and the multicultural literature of the 1960s. Wagner-Martin includes in her critical consideration African-American women writers, Jewish writers, and gay and lesbian writers who have been unjustly forgotten in earlier assessments of this period. The inclusion of popular writers in such genres as detective fiction also adds to the depth of this study. 01

The novel''s popularity endures as the story captures the reader''s imagination with the sheer romance of the complicated, yet realistic portrayal of the marriage of Newland Archer to May Welland, and of his love for May''s cousin, Ellen Olenska.

"Though her life was brief, the American poet and novelist Sylvia Plath (1932-63) exerted a profound influence on contemporary writers, particularly women writers of the sixties and seventies. Just as to her Pulitzer Prize-winning poetry Plath brought a decidedly feminist perspective, so too did she etch in her novel The Bell Jar a disturbing vision of life for young women in America at midcentury. The Bell Jar - based on Plath''s own experiences as a student at Smith College, an intern at Mademoiselle, and a young woman battling for her own sanity amid societal mores of the times - was initially published in England under a pseudonym, its American publication stifled for years by the writer''s family. When, however, the 1963 novel was finally released to U.S. audiences in 1971, it achieved both critical and popular success, and has since become a classic of feminist literature and a unique vehicle for better appreciating Plath''s gifts." "It is through a multifaceted lens that Linda Wagner-Martin examines The Bell Jar in this new study. Whereas past critical attention has centered on The Bell Jar as autobiography, Wagner-Martin transcends that approach, looking as well at the novel in its larger context of the social and historical forces shaping women''s lives in America during the fifties and sixties. Thus eschewing a simplistic reading of the novel, the author plumbs issues of gender, genre, and narrative voice. Arguing that Plath''s troubled personal history was the product of her struggle against contemporary social forces, Wagner-Martin reviews the writer''s prior work and inspects earlier, partial versions of the novel; explores Plath''s use of humor and sarcasm; traces the writer''s representation of patriarchal structures in the novel; and ultimately places the novel squarely in the tradition of works about women at odds with a society dominated by patriarchal values. A brilliantly argued, eminently readable approach to this masterpiece, The Bell Jar: A Novel of the Fifties is certain to be lauded by scholars and students alike."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

A selection of critical essays and reviews on the work of the American poet.