Rewriting America : New essays on the Federal Writers' Project / edited by Sara Rutkowski.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Rutkowski, Sara, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Federal Writers' Project.

American literature--20th century--History and criticism.

American literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (288 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Amherst, MA : University of Massachusetts Press, [2022]

Summary:

Established in 1935, the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) sent over 6,500 unemployed historians, teachers, writers, and librarians out to document America's past and present in the midst of the Great Depression. The English poet W. H. Auden referred to this New Deal program as "one of the noblest and most absurd undertakings ever attempted by any state." Featuring original work by scholars from a range of disciplinary perspectives, this edited collection provides fresh insights into how this extraordinary program helped transform American culture. In addition to examining some of the major twentieth-century writers whose careers the FWP helped to launch--including Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, and Margaret Walker--Rewriting America presents new perspectives on the role of African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, and women on the project. Essays also address how the project's goals continue to resonate with contemporary realities in the midst of major economic and cultural upheaval.

Contents:

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Contents

Acknowledgments

Editor's Introduction: Sara Rutkowski

Part I: Politics, Purpose, and Vision

Chapter 1: Three Lenses on the Legacy of the Federal Writers' Project

Chapter 2: Henry Alsberg: Architect and Defender of the Project and its Legacies

Chapter 3: Understanding the Living Lore Units: B. A. Botkin, Folklore, and Creative Writing on the FWP

Chapter 4: "Shadows of Tragic Premonition": The Native Son and the Federal Writers' Project

Part II: The American Scene

Chapter 5: State Guides then and Now: From Controversial New Deal Project to National Treasure

Chapter 6: Of Conquistadors and Corridos: Aurora Lucero-White and the New Mexico Federal Writers' Project

Chapter 7: Lyle Saxon: The FWP, Identity, and Historical Tourism in New Orleans

Chapter 8: A View from the Boardwalk: The New York City Guide and Coney Island Hypertext

Part III: Raw Material and Opportunity

Chapter 9: "Crime and Juvenile Delinquency-My Pet Hobby at Present": Margaret Walker and the FWP in Chicago

Chapter 10: Ernest J. Gaines's Literary and Historical Strategies in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman: Imitating the Federal Writers' Project Slave Narratives

Chapter 11: Eddie Shimano and Gerald Chan Sieg: Asian American Writers in the FWP

Chapter 12: A View of the Archives: Ralph Ellison's Collection of Children's Rhymes for the FWP

Afterword

Contributors

Index

Back Cover.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: Rutkowski, Sara Rewriting America

ISBN:

9781613769775

1613769776

OCLC:

1350077704