Research Catalog

Title

The Cambridge companion to the literature of Los Angeles / [edited by] Kevin R. McNamara.

Publication

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

McNamara, Kevin R., 1958-

Description

xxii, 211 p.; 24 cm.

Summary

"Los Angeles has a tantalizing hold on the American imagination. Its self-magnifying myths encompass Hollywood glamour, Arcadian landscapes, and endless summer, but also the apocalyptic undertow of riots, environmental depredation, and natural disaster. This Companion traces the evolution of Los Angeles as the most public staging of the American Dream - and American nightmares. The expert contributors make exciting, innovative connections among the authors and texts inspired by the city, covering the early Spanish settlers, African American writers, the British and German expatriates of the 1930s and 1940s, Latino, and Asian LA literature. The genres discussed include crime novels, science fiction, Hollywood novels, literary responses to urban rebellion, the poetry scene, nature writing, and the most influential non-fiction accounts of the region. Diverse, vibrant, and challenging as the city itself, this Companion is the definitive guide to LA in literature"--Provided by publisher.

Series Statement

Cambridge companions to literature

Uniform Title

Cambridge companions to literature.

Alternative Title

Literature of Los Angeles

Subjects

• American literature > California > Los Angeles > History and criticism
• Los Angeles (Calif.) > In literature

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 191-196) and index.

Contents

Introduction: Landmarks / Kevin R. McNamara -- The literature of the Californios / Rosaura Sánchez and Beatrice Pita -- The Anglo invention of Los Angeles / William Alexander McClung -- LA fiction through mid-century / David Wyatt -- British expatriates and German exiles in 1930s-1940s Los Angeles / Russell A. Berman -- Postwar Los Angeles : suburban Eden and the fall into history / Patrick O'Donnell -- Los Angeles in the African-American literary imagination / Charles Scruggs -- Pacific Rim city : Asian-American and Latino literature / James Kyung-Jin Lee -- The literature of urban rebellion / Julian Murphet -- City of sleuths / William Marling -- Los Angeles' science fiction futures / David Seed -- Hollywood fictions / Chip Rhodes -- The Southland on screen / Mark Shiel -- Scenes and movements in Southern California poetry / Bill Mohr -- Surf, sagebrush, and cement rivers : reimagining nature in Los Angeles / J. Scott Bryson -- Essaying Los Angeles / Eric Avila.

Call Number

PS285.L7

ISBN

• 9780521514705 (hbk.)
• 0521514703 (hbk.)
• 9780521735544 (pbk.)
• 0521735548 (pbk.)

LCCN

2009050511

OCLC

466341275

Title

The Cambridge companion to the literature of Los Angeles / [edited by] Kevin R. McNamara.

Imprint

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Series

Cambridge companions to literature

Cambridge companions to literature.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (p. 191-196) and index.

Added Author

McNamara, Kevin R., 1958-

Research Call Number

*R-RMRR PS285.L7 .C36 2010