The Literature of California, Volume 1: Native American Beginnings to 1945

Jack Hicks

University of California Press, Dec 5, 2000 - Literary Collections - 653 pages

The Literature of California is a landmark publication—unmatched by any existing collection and distinguished by its breadth, variety of sources, and historical sweep. The editors have been refreshingly inclusive and imaginative in their selection: some of the writers are internationally known, others are anthologized here for the first time. The richness of material, ranging from Native American origin myths to Hollywood novels dissecting the American Dream; from the familiar voices of John Steinbeck, Jack London, and William Saroyan to the less-well-known narratives of Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton, Josephine Miles, and Jade Snow Wong—all of it captures the spirit and scope of the state itself.

This first volume of the comprehensive two-volume anthology is divided into four parts. The first includes stories, legends, and songs of the indigenous tribes. The second section comprises letters, diaries, reports, and travel narratives that trace a century of exploration, discovery, and conquest. Part III includes Mother Lode tales by Mark Twain and Bret Harte, the first signs of California poetry, the rise of narrative by California women, the nature writing of John Muir and Mary Austin, and some of the earliest prose from writers of Asian background, as well as the maturing fiction of Jack London and Frank Norris. Part IV traces the period between the World Wars, when California literature came fully into its own.

A lively introduction contextualizes each section, and concise biographical material is included for each writer. Volume Two, to be published in 2007, concentrates on the second half of the twentieth-century, during which California became one of the most active literary regions in the world. A colossal contribution to the culture of the state, The Literature of California broadens our sense of this region's richness, both past and present, offering new ways of perceiving history, community, and oneself.

Contents

• ORIGINS AND THE WAY OF THE WORLD: 23
• Turtle Island Maidu: 35
• The Girl Who Married Rattlesnake Pomo: 50
• ORDER COMMUNITY: 56
• OLD AGE DEATH AND THE AFTERLIFE: 62
• PART TWO ONE HUNDRED YEARS: 69
• GARCí RODRIGUEZ ORDÓÑEZ: 76
• JEAN FRANçOIS DE GALOUP DE: 86
• NIkOLAI PETROVICH REZANOV: 91
• JEDEDIAH STRONG SMITH: 98
• RICHARD HENRY DANA: 108
• JOHN CHARLES FRÉMONT: 116
• MARIANO GUADALUPE VALLEJO: 123
• EDWIN BRYANT: 129
• SARAH ELEANOR ROYCE: 136
• LOUISE CLAPPE DAME SHIRLEY: 148
• ELIZA W B FARNHAM: 157
• JOHN ROLLIN RIDGE YELLOW BIRD: 163
• TTCETSA LUCY YOUNG: 171
• WILLIAM HENRY BREWER: 180
• PART THREE THE RISE OF A CALIFORNIA: 193
• BRET HARTE: 216
• CHARLES WARREN STODDARD: 226
• JOAQUIN MILLER: 232
• MARíA AMPARO RUIZ DE BURTON: 244
• THOCMETONY SARAH WINNEMUCCA: 254
• ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON: 262
• HELEN HUNT JACkSON: 269
• JOSIAH ROYCE: 279
• MARY HALLOCk FOOTE: 287
• JOHN MUIR: 298
• GEORGE STERLING: 308
• EDITH MAUD EATON SUI SIN FAR: 321
• YONE NOGUCHI: 330
• Ah Who Says So?: 337
• FRANk BAUM: 347
• ANONYMOUS CHINESE IMMIGRANTS: 354
• FRANk NORRIS: 372
• Continents End: 408
• JAIME DE ANGULO: 414
• UPTON SINCLAIR: 422
• DASHIELL HAMMETT: 429
• WALLACE THURMAN: 437
• YVOR WINTERS: 447
• CAIN: 453
• HORACE MCCOY: 471
• GEORGE R STEWART: 480
• JOHN STEINBECk: 490
• CAREY MCWILLIAMS: 506
• HILDEGARDE FLANNER: 516
• City: 522
• RAYMOND CHANDLER: 533
• NATHANAEL WEST: 543
• F SCOTT FITZGERALD: 554
• 1994: 565
• IDWAL JONES: 575
• TOSHIO MORI: 583
• He Who Has the Laughing Face 1949: 589
• CARLOS BULOSAN: 604
• CHESTER HIMES: 611
• FURTHER READING: 623
• INDEX OF AUTHORS AND TITLES: 631

About the author

Jack Hicks teaches California literature and directs the Graduate Creative Program at the University of California, Davis. James D. Houston 's seven books of fiction/nonfiction include Continental Drift (California, 1996) and The Last Paradise (1998), which won the American Book Award. Maxine Hong Kingston is the author of The Woman Warrior (1976), China Men (1980), and Tripmaster Monkey (1989). An early draft of her fourth novel, The Fifth Book of Peace, was destroyed in a fire; the restored version will be published in 2000-2001. Al Young 's twenty books include African American literary anthologies, memoirs, collections of poetry, and the novels Sitting Pretty (1976) and Who Is Angelina? (California, 1996).

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Literature of California, Volume 1: Native American Beginnings to 1945; A director's circle book; Volume 1 of The Literature of California, Jack Hicks; The Literature of California, Volume 1
• Editor: Jack Hicks
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: University of California Press, 2000
• ISBN: 0520222121, 9780520222120
• Length: 653 pages
• Subjects: Literary Collections / American / General; Literary Criticism / American / General; Literary Criticism / General