Col Ame Lit

by Susan Castillo and Ivy Schweitzer

Book Overview

Compiled in response to emerging transnational perspectives in American Studies, this comprehensive and imaginative anthology brings together a rich variety of works of colonial literature from across the Americas, covering the period from first contact, through to settlement and the emergence of national identities, with an emphasis on the American Revolutionary period.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 063121125X
• ISBN13: 9780631211259
• Release Date: February 2001
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Length: 628 Pages
• Weight: 2.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 6.8" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

An excellent Re-Vision of Early American Literatures!

Richard Gray calls this edition "that rare thing, a landmark anthology,"[...] "a significant contribution to the rewriting of American literary history." While he is absolutely correct, his words do not convey the excitement that simply browsing through this volume generates. This anthology is a gem, full of well-edited pieces and excerpts that come together in the colorful kaleidoscope that seems to reflect the Literatures of Colonial America more faithfully than any prior attempt at "politically correct" inclusiveness. Indeed, the title itself is indicative of the scrupulous respect afforded these works irregardless of their origin; hierarchy is seemingly anathema to the editors, who have organized their material chronologically for the most part in order to give account of the vast experience and varying reactions of all the peoples implicated: European "discoverers," settlers, natives as well as both willing and unwilling immigrants. The editors, sensitive to the increasingly essential questions of gender, `race,' class, culture, language and nationality, have managed to bring together for the first time texts which jostle each other for primacy of perspective even as they complement and complete a far-reaching vision of this brave "New World." Opening the book to any page is an invitation to re-read and re-envision what we thought we new of Early America. I am personally and particularly impressed with the knowledge and comprehensive understanding of the editors and with the care with which this anthology has been elaborated. Each text is introduced effectively and succinctly with enough information to situate the reader before letting the voices of the writers take over. The translations from Spanish and Portuguese by Prof. Castillo are excellent, and seem to faithfully relay not only the content but the flourish and form of their originals. No instances here of that horrible enemy of good prose, "translationese." This of itself is commendable and demonstrates Prof. Castillo's solid grounding in both the language and the cultures of the Iberian peninsula. I suppose that for the sake of scrupulousness one should have a personal "nit to pick," and mine hinge on two suggestions for the next reprint. First, this anthology takes Oladauh Equiano at his word and propagates as historical "truth" the story of his early life; recent research has challenged that stance, alleging that Equiano was not born in Africa at all. Perhaps future editions should simply acknowledge the debate, which in any case does not seriously affect the importance of Equiano's text as a literary response to his age. Secondly, as so many wonderful texts from the Spanish-speaking world have been included, I think that it might also be useful to include Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon's influential reports and letters in the early 16th century, imploring the King of Spain to renew his funding by speaking of "La Nueva Andalucia" and intentionally misrepresenting th

A generous anthology

This is a superb anthology. The texts selected by Castillo and Schweitzer ring with the conflicts of imperial expansion in the New World and provide fascinating new perspectives on writing in the early Americas. Annotation is painstaking and thorough, and the introductions provide useful contextual information without attempting to overshadow the texts themselves. A generous project, which will help to break down disciplinary barriers in new and exciting ways.

Multicultural from its very beginning....

This anthology convincingly demonstrates that the geographical area which is today's USA has had a rich multicultural and multilingual heritage from its very beginning, contrary to what one might be led to believe when leafing through more traditional anthologies of 'American' literature that mostly include anglophone texts. Castillo and Schweitzer weave together a diverse collection of poetry, prose, songs, ballads, journal entries, oral narratives, letters, federal papers, cartoons, emblems and prints to illustrate the depth and breadth of American colonial culture. Special emphasis is given to previously not or only rarely anthologized texts, especially by Native Americans, women, and non-anglophone settlers and explorers. A must for all (American Studies) libraries. - W. W. Hoelbling, American Studies Department, University of Graz, Austria.