美国文学有其独特的矛盾。短短二百年的历史,然而充满了强烈的对照:师法英国的文雅传统与土生土长的独立写作;白人文学与黑人文学;亨利·詹姆斯与马克·吐温;艾米莉·狄更生与惠特曼;现代派与左翼文学;畅销书最多,特别是那些一看完就扔掉的惊险故事和爱情小说,但是在艺术探索与创新的某些方面又 American literature has its unique contradiction. A short history of two hundred years, however, is fraught with strong contrasts: the elegant traditions of British teachers in the Methodology and the independent writing of native Americans; whites and black literature; Henry James and Mark Twain; Emily Dickinson and Hui Terman; modernist and left-wing literature; bestsellers, especially thrillers and romances thrown away as soon as they are finished, but in some aspects of artistic exploration and innovation