In the American Grain Study Guide consists of approx. 141 pages of summaries and analysis on In the American Grain by William Carlos Williams. Browse the literature study guide below:
Horace Gregory introduces William Carlos Williams' collection of essays by giving accolades, defining the writer's goals, and suggesting warnings. Gregory pursues the notion that history is an ancient and dangerous pit of truths that few return alive from visiting. He implies that only the strong and imaginative can survive studying and writing about history. For him, William Carlos Williams is one of those individuals, bringing as he does to these essays a creative, personalized look into early America. It is dangerous learning about and writing about history, Gregory insists, and too many would-be history writers try. He believes that Williams, however, achieves the goal of capturing "that happier world that so often seems to elude us. . ." For Gregory, Williams makes the American discoveries seem alive and new, and does so in spite of how many have tried in a field that is too full of would-be historians and the earlier described dangers. (read more)
