American literature is the written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and its preceding colonies. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States. During its early history, America was a series of British colonies on the eastern coast of the present-day United States. Therefore, its literary tradition begins as linked to the broader tradition of English literature. However, unique American characteristics and the breadth of its production usually now cause it to be considered a separate path and tradition.
Read more about American Literature: Colonial Literature, Post-independence, First American Novels, Unique American Style, Early American Poetry, Realism, Twain and James, Beginning of The 20th Century, The Rise of American Drama, Depression-era Literature, Contemporary American Literature, Minority Literatures, Nobel Prize in Literature Winners (American Authors), American Literary Awards, Literary Theory and Criticism
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“For it does not follow because many books are written by persons born in America that there exists an American literature. Books which imitate or represent the thoughts and life of Europe do not constitute an American literature. Before such can exist, an original idea must animate this nation and fresh currents of life must call into life fresh thoughts along its shores.”
—Margaret Fuller (1810–1850)