The Heath Anthology Of American Literature: Contemporary Period: 1945 To The Present

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 new 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.

• The thematic cluster, "Prison Literature," acknowledges this growing field of study with poetry and fiction by past and present inmates.
• Two beat writers include Brenda (Bonnie) Frazer, who uses poetry to express her feminist stance on marriage and sexual politics, and Joyce Johnson, who is represented with a selection of her letters to and from Jack Kerouac.
• Works include a selection from The Autobiography of Malcolm X, "Recitatif" by Toni Morrison, "Laurel" by Alice Walker, and "Trust Me" by John Updike.
• A play by Paula Vogel, How I Learned to Drive, is featured in the New Generations section, and plays such as A Raisin in the Sun and The Crucible are presented in their full-length formats.