This assessment of American literary history explores the ways in which the interplay of written and oral forms shaped the foundations of both national literature and political identity. It examines numerous texts, written from colonial to modern times, considering how speech and writing interact.

This bold retelling of American literary history explores the ways in which the interplay of oral and written forms shaped the foundations of our national literature and political identity. Throughout the book, Portelli invites the reader to share in a provocative, intriguing, and always open conversation on the American voice---deferred, remembered, transcribed, and reinvented by our multifaceted and fabled writers.