The Task of Literature Is Not to Answer, but to Question

America, America, America... a continent, a nation, a people, and a whole lotta books. But how does America define itself? Who defines it? Where did the idea of American exceptionalism come from? And how does literature fit into any of this? In this episode, Jacke talks to Professor Ilan Stavans about his new book, What Is American Literature?

ILAN STAVANS is Lewis-Sebring Professor of Humanities and Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College, the publisher of Restless Books, and the host of the NPR podcast "In Contrast". The recipient of numerous international awards, his work, adapted into film, theatre, TV, and radio, has been translated into twenty languages. 

Additional listening suggestions:

• Literary Battle Royale 2 - The Cold War (U.S. vs. U.S.S.R.)
• 120 The Astonishing Emily Dickinson
• 111 Ralph Waldo Emerson - The Americanest American

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