by Greg Johnson (Author)

Understanding Contemporary American Literature was planned as a series of guides or companions for students as well as good nonacademic readers. The word understanding in the series titles was deliberately chosen. Many willing readers lack an adequate understanding of how contemporary literature works: that is, what the author is attempting to express and the means by which it is conveyed. These volumes provide instruction in how to read certain contemporary writers--identifying and explicating their material, themes, use of language, point of view, structures, symbolism, and responses to experience.

Author Biography

Greg Johnson is the author of two previous volumes of short fiction, Distant Friends, for which he was named 1990 Georgia Author of the Year, and A Friendly Deceit, which is also available from Johns Hopkins. He has published a novel, a collection of poetry, and three volumes of literary criticism. He is professor of English at Kennesaw State College.