Stephen Spender's Political Writings and Views of the Twentieth Century
Stephen Spender was truly an influential writer of the twentieth century. The greatest part of Spender's life was spent voicing his political opinions through his literary works. Stephen Spender's political views have changed through out his life. During the time he was a young adult, Spender's political opinions were radically liberal, however he gradually migrated his viewpoint to become more moderate in nature. Stephen Spender was labeled as a political writer and was credited with "bridging the gap of between pre-WWII modernism and all that came after". (Sternlicht P.115) Much of Spender's works took a personalistic approach as he documented his political ideas and theories.
Politics took center stage in many of Spender's writings. Political views and events are illustrated in the following works. "Stephen Spender earned the reputation of a radical writer of concern, addressing the polically conscience-striken Left of his time (Sternlicht P.127). "In Forward From Liberalism, Stephen spender records the uncertainties in his attempt to find and support a position left of liberalism, the political creed he was born into" (Sternlicht P. 115). He also discusses his theories on political group dynamics with regards to the different political agendas existing in individual loyalty, which differentiates the dynamics groups. According to Sanford Sterlicht, a critic of the political writings of Steven Spender, Spender's book The God That Failed was proclaimed to be one of the most important books of the cold war. The novel describes the journey of six intellectuals into communism, and their return. The four gentleman were ...
... middle of paper ...
...d the way for others to follow in his footsteps and lead the charges for political content in literature. What once was a field that was seen in a negative context, Spender has provided the means to blend the two opposing forces of politics and creative literature. Stephen Spender will remain noted for his high profile lifestyle and his highly recognized political theories and ideals.
Bibliography:
Work Cited
Stephen Spender. The Thirties and After. London: The MacMillan Press LTD., 1978
Stephen Spender. Stephen Spender and The Thirties. London: Associated Press, Inc.,
1975.
Stephen Spender. Twayne's English Authors Series. Great Britian: William
Heinemann LTD., 1992.
Stephen Spender. Journals 1939-1983. London: Faber and Faber, 1985.
Sanford Sternlicht, Stephen Spender. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1992.
This story was not only riveting, but also one that kept me on my heels for almost the entire time that I was reading it. Stephen B. Oates, a prize-winning author of thirteen books and more then seventy articles, is currently a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Some of his best novels have been 'With Malice Toward None: The Life of Abraham Lincoln,'; 'Let the Trumpet Sound: The Life of Martin Luther King. Jr.,'; and 'Rip Ford's Texas.'; His writing is riveting as well as courageous. His willingness to get to such length to capture the mind of the reader and hold them in suspense has earned him several awards throughout his lustrous career. Some of the awards that Oates has received are the Christopher Award and the Barondess/Lincoln Award of the New York Civil War Round Table. His work has gained worldwide notoriety and is currently translated in four different languages: French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese.
...rian who showed at no end that he would stop doing what he loved, writing about America and enriching the minds of his readers and students.
Perkins, Geroge, and Barbara Perkins. The American Tradition in Literature. 12th ed. Vol. 2. New York: McGraw Hill, 2009. Print
McQuade, Donald, ed. The Harper American Literature. Harper & Row Publishers: New York, 1987, pp. 1308-1311. This paper is the property of NetEssays.Net Copyright © 1999-2002
Kinnamon, Keneth. The Emergence of RIchard Wright: A Study in Literature and Society. 1973. Reprint, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1972.
Updike, John. "A&P." Thinking and Writing About Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 981-86. Print.
Russell Freedman, an American biographer and author, was born in San Francisco in 1929, and he graduated the University of California, Berkeley. He used to be a reporter, an editor, and a publicist for various network television shows. Lincoln: A Photobiography, the 1988 Newbery Medal book, made his name as “a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children”, which infers that he was credible and highly respectable person at that time. He had published over 50 nonfiction books for young people, and usually wrote about animal behaviors and American history. Freedman’s famous books are Freedom Walkers, Eleanor Roosevelt: A Life of Discovery, and Kids at Work. Moreover, Mr. Freedman chalked up several Newbery Honors, the May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture Award, the Sibert Medal, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, and etc.
...n American Literature. By Henry Louis. Gates and Nellie Y. McKay. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2004. 387-452. Print.
Ray Douglas Bradbury was one of the most distinguished science fiction writers of the last century. Having been penniless during the Depression, Bradbury did not attend college but instead spent countless hours in the library teaching himself everything he believed he would have been taught by a professor (Norman “Obituary: Ray Bradbury…”). Before long, this noble autodidact was writing for mass market publications developing a style of fantasy science fiction writing that would serve as a model for future acolytes such as Steven King and Steven Spielberg (“Bradbury’s prose style…”). In the 1950s, a year in which anti-communist hysteria was most prevalent, Bradbury began to develop an irrational fear of censorship. (Norman “Obituary: Ray Bradbury…”). Bradbury infuses his writings with man vs. society conflicts and despotic characterization which accurately depict his ambivalence towards technology that stems from his fear of these advances eventually leading to the suppression of independent thought, thus suppression of the individual. These elements, found primarily in his first novel, Fahrenheit 451, not only impacted the sci-fi genre, but also made an impact on many readers worldwide gaining Bradbury much admiration in the literary realm.
Strauss, Leo, and Joseph Cropsey. History of Political Philosophy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.
Poet, journalist, essayist, and novelist Richard Wright developed from an uneducated Southerner to one of the most cosmopolitan, politically active writers in American literature. In many of Richard Wright's works, he exemplifies his own life and proves to “white” America that African American literature should be taken seriously. Before Wright, “white” America failed to acknowledge the role African American writing played in shaping American culture. It was shocking in itself that an African American could write at all. Thus, Richard Wright is well known as the father of African American literature mainly because of his ability to challenge the literary stereotypes given to African Americans.
When a writer starts his work, most often than not, they think of ways they can catch their reader’s attention, but more importantly, how to awake emotions within them. They want to stand out from the rest and to do so, they must swim against the social trend that marks a specific society. That will make them significant; the way they write, how they make a reader feel, the specific way they write, and the devotion they have for their work. Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgard Allan Poe influenced significantly the American literary canon with their styles, themes, and forms, making them three important writers in America.
... reflects the accomplishments made in four centuries. While man still does not have absolute free speech, he is not so suppressed that he must hide his feelings by literary means.
Critics innocently struggled to explain Greene's emergence as a left-wing political novelist. The Soviets were easily misled into thinking that his anti-Americanism meant that he was sympatheti...
As long as the world changes, literature and writings will change. Whether to adjust to certain trends, political issues, or as the reflection of American culture changes.