Literary Legacies of the Federal Writers Project

Zusatztext

The first book-length literary analysis of the WPAs Federal Writers Project (FWP)a massive New Deal program that put thousands to work documenting the country during the Depression. Drawing on critical histories, archival documents, and select works of fiction, the book examines the nature and history of the FWPs documentary method and its literary imprint, particularly on three key black American writers: Ralph Ellison, Dorothy West, and Margaret Walker. By aiming their documentary lenses so precisely on individual voices, folklore, and cultural communities, FWP writers would ultimately eschew the social realism of thirties culture in favor of themes surrounding personal and cultural identities in the postwar era. This concise volume demonstrates how the FWP served as a repository from which many of the most treasured 20th century writers drew material, techniques, and philosophical direction in ways that would help steer the course of American writing.

Autorenportrait

Sara Rutkowski is Professor of Literature and Writing at the City University of New York: Kingsborough Community College.

Weitere Details