Books : Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, Compact Edition (5th Edition) (Kennedy/Gioia Literature Series)

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The concise version of the discipline's most popular introductory anthology, Kennedy/Gioia’s Literature, Compact Edition continues to inspire students with engaging insights on reading and writing about stories, poems, and plays.  

Poets in their own right, editors X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia bring personal warmth and a human perspective to this compact, paperback anthology.  Organized into three genres—Literature, Compact Edition, presents readable discussions of the literary devices, illustrated by apt works, supported by useful writing tips, and followed by (now) sis full chapters devoted to writing.  A broad scope of traditional and contemporary works is provided, most headed by author images and richly detailed biographical notes and some followed by author commentary.  While maintaining the characteristics of its previous editions–accessible apparatus, expansive author representation– this Compact, Fifth Edition has been re-imagined to include new casebooks, a lively new design, and more writing coverage than ever before.

New students of literature.

Average Rating:

Rating: - The one by which all others are measured
The first review of this textbook is extremely misleading. This is THE most popular textbook in the country for Introduction to Literature courses. While the Norton is certainly popular too, it is not the "standard." Furthermore, the literature examples in the book are copious, varied and extremely well chosen. All periods and types of the genres are represented, and the headnotes are generous and well-written. The emphasis on writing is quite welcome, since in most Introduction to Literature courses the ultimate goal is for students to be able to write mature critical essays about what they're reading. The previous reviewer reveals his or her bias with the sneer about the book seeming to come from a "bygone era." By that I think the reviewer means that the book does not particularly ... Read More

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Rating: - Good basic anthology covering ficiton, poetry and drama.
If you are an instructor interested in using this for your class, it is pretty good, though a bit on the conservative side. If you are a general reader or a student, you may very well like it, but the Norton series of anthologies are the standards. No anthology can do it all, but this one includes good critical sections on genres and basic approaches, as well as a little of everything: English, American, Minority, and World lit. It has pretty strong African American selections and a decent slice of classics. It has a handfull of selections from Latino writers. My main complaint is that it's pretty weak on Asian American writers and Native American writers. While it has a few of them, they tend to be pretty marginal. It works well for a class that functions as both composition and intro ... Read More