Kelley Griffith's Writing Essays about Literature is the standard guide and style sheet for interpreting and writing about literature. Flexible enough to be used in any literature course that emphasizes writing, this versatile text includes strategies for analysis and interpretation, and step-by-step instruction for planning, researching, writing, and revising literary papers.
More headings throughout the text, new "Now It's Your Turn" exercises, new close-reading "Checklists" at the end of every chapter, and a new glossary of literary terms link Griffith's approach into a single, easy-reference guide for both reading and writing about literature.
Updates to the fiction and poetry sections include revised coverage in fiction of the relationship between author and narrator, and of plot elements such as embedded and framed stories; and in poetry, of reading a poem for the first time, understanding the role of the speaker, managing difficult language, and recognizing forms such as the haiku and visual poetry.
Kelley Griffith earned a BA from Wake Forest University and an MA and PhD in English from the University of Pennsylvania. In his 34-year teaching career at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, he taught courses in composition, American literature, English literature, European literature, and literary research. In 1996 he won the Alumni Teaching Excellence Award, UNCGreensboro's top honor for outstanding teaching. He is the author of two textbooks, Narrative Fiction: An Introduction and Anthology (Harcourt Brace, 1994) and Writing Essays about Literature: A Guide and Style Sheet (Wadsworth Cengage Learning), soon to appear in its ninth edition. Upon his retirement in 2002, he completed the Fine and Creative Woodworking Program at Rockingham Community College and now makes custom furniture. Examples of his work can be seen at www.sunburstfinewoodworking.com. He continues to be a deeply engaged reader of literature and maintains a strong interest in literary theory and pedagogy. On occasion he teaches non-credit courses at UNCG. In his new career he has been struck by how the skills required for interpreting and writing about literature mesh with those for operating a small business and making furniture. These skills include such things as analyzing complicated structures, doing research, solving problems, thinking systematically, and communicating clearly and persuasively to a general audience.
