In this collection of critical essays several recognized scholars of Southern literature assess Tennessee writers and their works, identifying and expounding the rich and vibrant contributions of Tennesseans to Southern and American letters. Teachers, students, and readers who seek pleasure and enlightenment in Southern literature will find in this volume definitive accounts of the storytellers, poets, essayists, and critics who have shaped two centuries of Tennessee literary tradition. From the frontier tales of Davy Crockett and George Washington Harris, through the local colorists of the post-Civil War era, to the sophisticated works of the Fugitives, Agrarians, and New Critics and the experimental cadences of Ishmael reed and Nikki Giovanni, Literature of Tennessee treats in context the major figures and works of a rich heritage.