I believe that the reading and analysis of literature are important intellectual activities. Moreover, literature is one of the arts that enriches human understanding of the experience of life. We find this enrichment when we see ourselves reflected in a story, a novel, or a poem at some point in our lives, or when we witness through a literary work a human experience we ourselves may never know. A survey study of American writing has the added benefit of providing a sense of national culture and history as expressed in literature. Your study in this course will, I hope, be an encounter with literature in all these ways.

By way of a brief introduction, I would tell you I am an Associate Professor of English at the Annandale campus, where I have been teaching since 1970. I began teaching through distance learning in the mid-seventies. Today, I teach American Literature and Film and Literature both on campus and at ELI, because for me it's the best job around.

May I offer you my advice? To succeed in your studies for this course, do three things immediately:

I hope the assignments in the weeks ahead will challenge you, engage you, and bring you pleasure and knowledge. Enjoy the course!

Best wishes,