This is text and audio of Chapters 1-4 of Walden; or, Life in the Woods, by transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. It is a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings and a manual for self-reliance.

This site gives a short biography of Langston Hughes's life, a "Mini Bio: Langston Hughes" video [3:33] and links to 20 of his books.

This site describes the role of Elijah Muhammad as the "Messenger of Allah." It includes a picture, a video [20:38] of a rare interview with Muhammad, and a link to one of Elijah Muhammad's books, 100 Answers to the Most Common 100...

This site focuses on Lorraine Hansberry, author of A Raisin in the Sun, including a short biography, "The Lorraine Hansbury: Mini -Documentary" video [10:38], and links to four of her books.

This site focuses on Paul Laurence Dunbar including a biography that includes a poem in dialect "Negro Love Song" illustrating how well the author used this format. It also includes links to eight of his books.

This site offers a biography with a photo of Ellison and a video entitled "The Novel: Ralph Ellison on Work in Progress 1966" [28:56]. It also has links to seven of his books.

Gives biographical information on Ralph Waldo Ellison and his success as the author of "Invisible Man."

This website provides a nice exhibit of history paintings from the 1700s. There are eight paintings discussed depicting various historical events including religious and mythological stories.

Searchable text of poems by Francis Ellen Watkins Harper, from the book "Atlanta Offering."

On October 13, 2016, Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for poetic impression in American Music. He is the first American in 23 years to be recognized for this prize.

Provides links to some of the prominent authors during the Spanish-American War from Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the United States.

Describes the struggle of Americans to develop a unified sense of national identity in the 1800s.

Explains what the 'Scottish philosophy' was and how well it fitted with American sensibilities in the 1800s. Over time it evolved into the American philosophy of Pragmatism. The other philosophy that took hold in some groups of society...

The passion of Revolutionary literature is found in pamphlets, the most popular form of political literature of the day. Over 2,000 pamphlets were published during the Revolution. The pamphlets thrilled patriots and threatened loyalists;...

This article "The Use of Nature in American Gothic" focuses on how nature is used in American Gothic literature.

Eight day war poetry unit plan provided by The Academy of American Poets designed for tenth, eleventh, or twelfth grade students. Originally part of a larger class on the literature of war, this unit contains an overview of the past and...

At this site from The Nobel Foundation you can read about the 1930 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Sinclair Lewis, who was honored "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and...

Unfortunately, "literary" writing was not as simple and direct as political writing. When trying to write poetry, most educated authors stumbled into the pitfall of elegant neoclassicism. The epic, in particular, exercised a fatal...

Read about the winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature, Octavio Paz. This Nobel E-Museum website includes a biography, poetry, Paz's Nobel lecture entitled "In Search of the Present," and many other resources.

Site is from "The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, 1907-21." Covers Mark Twain himself and critiques on his work.

Three of Arna Bontemps' more famous poems are printed here.

Considered to be the "largest single building ever constructed by man," The Great Pyramid of Khufu is regarded as the greatest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. This article gives a detailed description of this pyramid,...

This resource focuses on the works of famous African-American author, Langston Hughes.

Discover the literature of Paraguay at this Spanish-language site.