American Literature in Transition, 1970–1980

This book is for devotees of the 1970s, which has to date celebrated the decade's music, fashion, and film. For the first time, it takes a comprehensive look at the literary developments of the decade, assessing writers as diverse as Toni Morrison, Erica Jong, and Philip Roth.

American Literature in Transition, 1970–1980 examines the literary developments of the twentieth-century''s gaudiest decade. For a quarter century, filmmakers, musicians, and historians have returned to the era to explore the legacy of Watergate, stagflation, and Saturday Night Fever, uncovering the unique confluence of political and economic phenomena that make the period such a baffling time. Literary historians have never shown much interest in the era, however - a remarkable omission considering writers as diverse as Toni Morrison, Thomas Pynchon, Marilyn French, Adrienne Rich, Gay Talese, Norman Mailer, Alice Walker, and Octavia E. Butler were active. Over the course of twenty-one essays, contributors explore a range of controversial themes these writers tackled, from 1960s'' nostalgia to feminism and the redefinition of masculinity to sexual liberation and rock ''n'' roll. Other essays address New Journalism, the rise of blockbuster culture, memoir and self-help, and crime fiction - all demonstrating that the Me Decade was nothing short of mesmerizing.