Text Book: An Introduction to Literary Language

- A unique approach demonstrates the connections between "literary" and "nonliterary" texts. In its four chapters, Text Book reveals and explores the features of texts -- such as narrative, metaphor, and intertextuality -- that literature and ordinary spoken and written language share. Understanding these features makes students better readers and more confident interpreters of both literature and life; using them makes students more creative thinkers and more venturesome writers in their introductory literature and writing courses.- A wide variety of readings provides numerous examples of key textual features. Playing off an adventurous choice of 20 stories, 23 poems, and four plays -- the traditional literary genres -- and many inviting "nonliterary" selections (including anecdotes, parables, autobiographical excerpts, fairy tales, and advertisements) highlight common features and practices of written texts. One hundred and two exciting pieces in all exemplify important composing processes such as revision and metaphor. Works include Paul Auster's "Tell Me a Story, " Susan Griffin's A Chorus of Stones, and many more. Text Book has enough readings to stand alone--yet can easily be supplemented with other texts.- Stimulating assignments prompt students to generate their own analytical and imaginative texts. The discussion and writing prompts after each reading -- such as "Revising Anecdote to Story" -- provide more than 300 proven assignments that enabScholes, Robert E. is the author of 'Text Book: An Introduction to Literary Language', published 2002 under ISBN 9780312394592 and ISBN 0312394594.