Book excerpt: Excerpt from Readings in American Literature The present volume of selections is primarily intended to accompany a history of American literature. Biographical matter has therefore been omitted, and only such notes have been added as seem indispensable to a clear understanding of the text. After the Colonial and Revolutionary periods, the selections have been arranged in regional groups in accordance with the plan followed in most briefer histories of American literature. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.