The Cambridge companion to the literature of Los Angeles / [edited by] Kevin R. McNamara.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

McNamara, Kevin R., 1958-

Series:

Cambridge companions to literature

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American literature--California--Los Angeles--History and criticism.

American literature.

Los Angeles (Calif.)--In literature.

Los Angeles (Calif.).

California--Los Angeles.

Physical Description:

xxii, 211 pages ; 24 cm.

Other Title:

Literature of Los Angeles

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Summary:

"Los Angeles has a tantalizing hold on the American imagination. Its self-magnifying myths encompass Hollywood glamour, Arcadian landscapes, and endless summer, but also the apocalyptic undertow of riots, environmental depredation, and natural disaster. This Companion traces the evolution of Los Angeles as the most public staging of the American Dream - and American nightmares. The expert contributors make exciting, innovative connections among the authors and texts inspired by the city, covering the early Spanish settlers, African American writers, the British and German expatriates of the 1930s and 1940s, Latino, and Asian LA literature. The genres discussed include crime novels, science fiction, Hollywood novels, literary responses to urban rebellion, the poetry scene, nature writing, and the most influential non-fiction accounts of the region. Diverse, vibrant, and challenging as the city itself, this Companion is the definitive guide to LA in literature"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: Landmarks / Kevin R. McNamara

The literature of the Californios / Rosaura Sánchez and Beatrice Pita

The Anglo invention of Los Angeles / William Alexander McClung

LA fiction through mid-century / David Wyatt

British expatriates and German exiles in 1930s-1940s Los Angeles / Russell A. Berman

Postwar Los Angeles : suburban Eden and the fall into history / Patrick O'Donnell

Los Angeles in the African-American literary imagination / Charles Scruggs

Pacific Rim city : Asian-American and Latino literature / James Kyung-Jin Lee

The literature of urban rebellion / Julian Murphet

City of sleuths / William Marling

Los Angeles' science fiction futures / David Seed

Hollywood fictions / Chip Rhodes

The Southland on screen / Mark Shiel

Scenes and movements in Southern California poetry / Bill Mohr

Surf, sagebrush, and cement rivers : reimagining nature in Los Angeles / J. Scott Bryson

Essaying Los Angeles / Eric Avila.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 191-196) and index.

ISBN:

9780521514705

0521514703

9780521735544

0521735548

OCLC:

466341275