James Gould Cozzens

James Gould Cozzens
Author: Matthew Joseph Bruccoli
Publisher: Harvest Books
Total Pages: 372
Release: 1984
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780156459525

The author delves into the mystery of why a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, whose mature novels were both well reviewed and widely read, disappeared so rapidly from critical and popular notice. He considers his subject one of the major novelists of the twentieth century, certain that in the eyes of history Cozzens will be seen as the consummately skilled, uniquely American, brilliantly creative writer that this prodigiously researched biography vividly and convincingly portrays.--Provided by publisher.

Castaway

Castaway
Author: James Gould Cozzens
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1989
Genre: Psychological fiction
ISBN: 9780929587172

In this short novel Mr. Cozzens has constructed a modern parable of the Robinson Crusoe tale, one with powerful implications for the survival of modern man. Beyond doubt an interesting and distinguished piece of work. —Times Literary Supplement.

From Native Son to King's Men

From Native Son to King's Men
Author: Robert McParland
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2017-11-08
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1538105543

On the heels of the Great Depression and staring into the abyss of a global war, American writers took fiction and literature in a new direction that addressed the chaos that the nation—and the world—was facing. These authors spoke to the human condition in traumatic times, and their works reflected the dreams, aspirations, values, and hopes of people living in the World War II era. In FromNative Son to King’s Men: The Literary Landscape of 1940s America, Robert McParland examines notable works published throughout the decade. Among the authors covered are James Baldwin, Pearl S. Buck, James Gould Cozzens, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, John Hersey, Norman Mailer, Ann Petry, Irwin Shaw, John Steinbeck, Robert Penn Warren, Eudora Welty, and Richard Wright. McParland explores how popular novels, literary fiction, and even short stories by these authors represented this pivotal period in American culture. By examining the creative output of these authors, this book reveals how the literature of the 1940s not only offered a pathway for that era’s readers but also provides a way of understanding the past and our own times. From Native Son to King’s Men will appeal to anyone interested in the cultural climate of the 1940s and how this period was depicted in American literature.

Masscult and Midcult

Masscult and Midcult
Author: Dwight Macdonald
Publisher: New York Review of Books
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2011-10-11
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1590174682

A New York Review Books Original An uncompromising contrarian, a passionate polemicist, a man of quick wit and wide learning, an anarchist, a pacifist, and a virtuoso of the slashing phrase, Dwight Macdonald was an indefatigable and indomitable critic of America’s susceptibility to well-meaning cultural fakery: all those estimable, eminent, prizewinning works of art that are said to be good and good for you and are not. He dubbed this phenomenon “Midcult” and he attacked it not only on aesthetic but on political grounds. Midcult rendered people complacent and compliant, secure in their common stupidity but neither happy nor free. This new selection of Macdonald’s finest essays, assembled by John Summers, the editor of The Baffler, reintroduces a remarkable American critic and writer. In the era of smart, sexy, and everything indie, Macdonald remains as pertinent and challenging as ever.

Elbow Room

Elbow Room
Author: James Alan McPherson
Publisher: Fawcett
Total Pages: 290
Release: 1986-10-12
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0449213579

A beautiful collection of short stories that explores blacks and whites today, Elbow Room is alive with warmth and humor. Bold and very real, these twelve stories examine a world we all know but find difficult to define. Whether a story dashes the bravado of young street toughs or pierces through the self-deception of a failed preacher, challenges the audacity of a killer or explodes the jealousy of two lovers, James Alan McPherson has created an array of haunting images and memorable characters in an unsurpassed collection of honest, masterful fiction.