Writing Backwards: Historical Fiction and the Reshaping of the American Canon

Writing Backwards explores the dominance of historical fiction in the contemporary canon, examining its impact on American literary culture and the formation of the newly inclusive literary canon. It looks at novels by writers such as Toni Morrison, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Colson Whitehead, Julia Alvarez, Leslie Marmon Silko, Michael Chabon, Julie Otsuka, Yaa Gyasi, Ben Lerner, and Tommy Orange in the context of MFA programs, literary prizes, university syllabi, book clubs, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 21 November 2023
Publisher: Columbia University Press

Contemporary fiction has undergone a significant shift in recent decades, with critical acclaim and attention increasingly focused on historical fiction. This shift is particularly notable for writers of color, who have been celebrated almost exclusively for their historical fiction in the literary canon. Writing Backwards: Exploring the Dominance of Historical Fiction in the Contemporary Canon by Alexander Manshel explores this phenomenon by examining the most celebrated historical genres, including contemporary narratives of slavery, the World War II novel, the multigenerational family saga, immigrant fiction, and the novel of recent history. Manshel also examines the literary and academic institutions that have elevated these genres, including MFA programs, literary prizes, university syllabi, book clubs, and the National Endowment for the Arts. He documents the formation of the newly inclusive literary canon and how it has evolved over the last half century, while also considering who and what it still excludes. Writing Backwards offers new insight into how institutions shape literature and the limits of historical memory, and also considers recent challenges to the historical turn in American fiction.

Weight: 446g
Dimension: 140 x 216 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780231211277