American Writers

By Russel Clark

America was first settled in the 15th century by the English who went to America to colonise it and set up permanent residence there. It was already inhabited by Native Indians and the colonists fought with them to gain ownership of the land. From the time of those first settlers there have been American writers who have documented life in America and written some classic books. Early authors who wrote mainly about life in the colonies are John Smith of Jamestown who wrote one of the most famous books entitled “A True Relation of…Virginia” in 1608. Other authors of the time include Daniel Denton, William Strachey and John Lawson.

From these early books came more religious books written which documented the various religious disputes of the time and writers of importance from this period are John Winthrop and William Bradford. Some poetry also existed and early American writers who wrote poetry were Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor are two famous examples of American writers of poetry.

Micheal Wigglesworth also wrote a best selling poem entitled “The Day of Doom” which describes the time of judgement, and Nicolas Noyes was well known for his doggerel verse. From these books and American writers the themes of books moved on to more political ideas and notions. Benjamin Franklin wrote a book called “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin” which was an esteemed work of wit and influence.

As time progressed so did the work of American writers and in the post-war period many writers such as Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay wrote in the The Federalist which were a group of essays that were a political and historical discussion of government organisation and republican values.

The writer who is sometimes thought of as writing the first great American novel is William Hill Brown and his book “The Power of Sympathy” (1789) is thought of as a classic. As time went on more and more writers emerged and wrote about the American Civil war and other events that were of key importance in American life of that era. In the 19th Century two poets emerged that were to influence American writers for years. These two people were Walt Whitman who was a travelling, working man who’s greatest work was “Leaves of Grass” which used free flowing verse and lines of irregular length to depict the all-inclusiveness of American democracy.

The next influential poet is Emily Dickinson who lived a very sheltered life and never married.
She lived in a small town in Massachusetts yet her work was very unconventional for the time.
She incorporated wit, ingenuity into psychologically penetrating works or poetry. Many of her poems for example tend to dwell on death with a witty and mischievous twist. Then along came Mark Twain who wrote “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and he set the standard for some time for American writers as he wrote with passion and honesty about the slave trade.

Then came the writers of the 1950s with authors such as William Boroughs and Jack Kerouac whos novel “On the Road” was and still is a best seller. For many people this book is the definitive “Road book” and has influenced many other writers since its publication. As shown America has produced some great writers all of whom have their own style and individual flair.

Russell Clark owns and operates http://www.allgreatamericannovels.com