Since its first edition, 'The Heath Anthology of American Literature' has enabled instructors to draw comparisons between classic authors and recently discovered writers.
Unrivaled diversity and teachability have made The Heath Anthology a best-selling text since the publication of its first edition in 1989. In presenting a more inclusive canon of American literature, The Heath Anthology continues to balance the traditional, leading names in American literature with lesser-known writers and to build upon the anthology's other strengths: its apparatus and its ancillaries. Available in five volumes for greater flexibility, the Fifth Edition offers thematic clusters to stimulate classroom discussions and to show the treatment of important topics across the genres. The indispensable web site includes revised timelines, a multimedia gallery to support thematic clusters, and a searchable Instructor's Guide.
This best-selling anthology has shaped the teaching of the American literary canon in classrooms nationwide. The editors continue to enhance its strengths, focusing on diverse reading selections and robust ancillary materials. With contributions from over 200 specialists, the anthology includes updated biographical and critical information, along with new works appealing to both instructors and students. The Fourth Edition emphasizes the varied communities and voices that make up the United States, past and present. Volume 1 covers Native American oral literatures up to 1865, featuring writers like Whitman and Dickinson. Volume 2 begins with African American folk tales and regional writers, adding new sections on the Beat Movement and the Vietnam Conflict. Full-length texts, such as The Scarlet Letter and The Awakening, are integrated throughout. The accompanying website offers a searchable multimedia timeline with literary, historical, and cultural information, author profiles, research links, and an online Instructor's Guide. The Southern literature section includes works by William Faulkner and H.L. Mencken, while border literature features novelist María Amparo Ruíz de Burton. Additionally, gay and lesbian writers like Dorothy Allison, James Merrill, and Richard Rodriguez are represented throughout the anthology.