Showing results for "The American Language" in Literature & Fiction

American author, scholar, and satirist H.L. Mencken wrote The American Language in 1919, intending to defend American speech from prescriptivist critics. "America itself is unutterably vulgar. But vulgarity, after all, means no more than a yielding to natural impulses in the face of conventional inhibitions, and that yielding to natural impulses is at the heart of all healthy language-making."

Nobel laureate and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Beloved Toni Morrison investigates Black characters in the American literary canon and the way they shaped the nation’s collective unconscious. In a dazzling series of lectures from her tenure as a professor at Princeton University, Toni...

When someone compliments you, the usual response is gratitude and kind words in return. Not so with Mark Twain. When told that he spoke English very well Twain indicated he didn't speak English at all. He spoke American. This short story allows Twain the opportunity to explain the differences. As usual humor walks with Twain as he shares his thoughts.

This audiobook contains grammar points with examples for learners. With many chapters on various grammatical theories, A Grammar of the English Tongue is the complete guide to the correct usage of English. A Grammar of the English Tongue can help you get the basic skills you need for a career and for further educational pursuits.

Established early in the last century as a memorial to O. Henry, this annual collection has consistently offered a remarkable sampling of contemporary short stories. Each year stories are chosen from large and small literary magazines and a panel of distinguished writers is enlisted to award the...

From the National Book Award–winning author of Lighthead, Terrance Hayes, a fascinating collection of graphic reviews and illustrated prose addressing the last century of American poetry—to be published simultaneously with his latest poetry collection, So to Speak Canonized, overlooked, and...

Bestselling advice columnist Vandy Guru built her career teaching others how to live honestly and courageously, but after the loss of her husband, Vandy’s public veneer can barely conceal her grief. When her beloved daughter Mallika suddenly disappears and her estranged childhood best friend Rani returns, stirring up long-buried secrets, Vandy’s carefully crafted life feels at risk.

"Poets live the lives all of us live," says Bill Moyers, "with one big difference. They have the power--the power of the word--to create a world of thoughts and emotions other can share. We only have to learn to listen." In a series of fascinating conversations with thirty-four American poets...

Alicia Erian's characters are brave, disarming, affectionate, and deeply flawed. They inhabit the not-so-very-wide space between a good intention and a bad outcome. The Brutal Language of Love challenges traditional notions of right and wrong with what has become Erian's signature—an achingly stylish humor and a deep understanding of the brutal truth about human nature. These surprising, provocative, and deeply resonant stories marked the emergence of a major talent.

A timely and moving collection from the renowned inaugural poet on issues facing our country and people—immigration, gun violence, racism, LGBTQ issues, and more. Through an oracular yet intimate and accessible voice, Richard Blanco addresses the complexities and contradictions of our...

In American Literature, all main periods are covered, from colonial times to the present movement toward cultural diversity. Also covered are key themes and personalities, with emphasis on major figures, including Ben Franklin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Henry James, Edith Wharton, William Faulkner, Langston Hughes, Tennessee Williams, Alice Walker, and many more.

A suite of poems that channels the legendary singer-songwriter Ritchie Valens to examine and question mid-twentieth-century conceptions of race and art, identity and desire Ragged and raging across the spectrums of cognition, race, and gender, Tarta Americana lyrically envisions forms of...

Les penúries econòmiques de Dickens van inspirar les seves millors novel·les (Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Temps difícils), de gran contingut i crítica social. Gràcies a una herència, Charles deixa la fàbrica on treballava i es posa a estudiar. Aprèn taquigrafia i amb 17 anys escriu als diaris. El 1836 escriu per a un editor una novel·la per fascicles setmanals, Oliver Twist, on mostra amb cruesa la difícil vida dels més pobres. Va tenir un enorme èxit.