What does it mean to call something “contemporary”? More than simply denoting what’s new, it speaks to how we come to know the present we’re living in a

“This book was written late in the North American night, with the rumbling thuds and booming train horns of the nearby rail yard echoing through my windows, r

“The most convincing portrait I know of contemporary America . . . a great American novel.”— James Atlas, The Atlantic Monthly A reissue of Russell Banks�

How do genres develop? In what ways do they reflect changing political and cultural trends? What do they tell us about the motivations of publishers and readers

A riveting new volume exploring the power and provocation of medieval English and the trope of the seafarer