A history of American working class literature A History of American Working Class Literature sheds light not only on the lived experience of class but the enormously varied creativity of working class people throughout the history of what is now the United States. By charting a chronology of working class experience as the conditions of work have changed over time this volume shows how the practice of organizing economic competition place and time shape opportunity and desire. The subjects range from transportation narratives and slave songs to the literature of deindustrialization and globalization. Among the literary forms discussed are memoir journalism film drama poetry speeches fiction and song. Essays focus on plantation prison factory and farm as well as on labor unions workers theaters and innovative publishing ventures. Chapters spotlight the intersections of class with race gender and place. The variety depth and many provocations of this History are certain to enrich the study and teaching of American literature.