21st Century Literature PDF

ENUMERATE REPRESENTATIVE TEXTS AND AUTHORS FROM ASIA, NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE, LATIN AMERICA. ASIA  ASIA Asia is known for its rich cultural heritage, including ancient civilisations such as the Indus Valley Civilisation, the Chinese Empire, and the Khmer Empire. It is also home...

ENUMERATE REPRESENTATIVE TEXTS AND AUTHORS FROM ASIA, NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE, LATIN AMERICA. ASIA  ASIA Asia is known for its rich cultural heritage, including ancient civilisations such as the Indus Valley Civilisation, the Chinese Empire, and the Khmer Empire. It is also home to many of the world's most important religious sites, including the Mecca in Saudi Arabia, the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, and the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia.  ASIA Number of countries: 49 FAST FACTS Land size: Approx. 44.6 million square kms. Largest continent in the world. Population: Approx. 4.5 billion people. Most populated continent in the world. Climate: Asia is home to many different climate types, from tropical rainforests to arctic tundra. Landmarks: E.g., Great Wall of China, Mt Everest, The Dead Sea, Taj Mahal  AUTHORS FROM THE DIFFERENT REGIONS OF THE WORLD AND THEIR WORK. NOTABLE WRITERS IN ASIA KEVIN KWAN is a Singaporean-American novelist and writer of satirical novels Crazy Rich Asians, China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems. In 2014, Kwan was named as one of the "Five Writers to Watch" on the list of Hollywood's Most Powerful Authors published by The Hollywood Reporter. In 2018, Kwan made Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people and was inducted into The Asian Hall of Fame in 2004. Kevin Kwan was born in Singapore as the youngest of three boys, into an established Chinese Singaporean family. Kwan became inspired to write Crazy Rich Asians in 2009 while caring for his father, who was dying of cancer.  AUTHORS FROM THE DIFFERENT REGIONS OF THE WORLD AND THEIR WORK. AMY RUTH TAN (born February 19, 1952) is a Chinese-American author known for the novel The Joy Luck Club, which was adapted into a film of the same name in 1993 by director Wayne Wang. Tan has written several other novels, including The Kitchen God's Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter's Daughter, Saving Fish from Drowning, and The Valley of Amazement. Tan's latest book is a memoir entitled Where The Past Begins: A Writer's Memoir (2017). In addition to these, Tan has written two children's books: The Moon Lady (1992) and Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat (1994), which was turned into an animated series that aired on PBS..  AUTHORS FROM THE DIFFERENT REGIONS OF THE WORLD AND THEIR WORK. BANANA YOSHIMOTO (born 24 July 1964, Tokyo) is the pen name of Japanese writer Mahoko Yoshimoto. Yoshimoto graduated from Nihon University's College of Art with a major in literature. While there, she adopted the pseudonym "Banana", after her love of banana flowers, a name she recognizes as both "cute" and "purposefully androgynous." Her debut work, Kitchen (1988), had over 60 printings in Japan alone. In November 1987, Yoshimoto won the 6th Kaien Newcomers' Literary Prize for Kitchen; In 1988, the novel was nominated for the Mishima Yukio Prize, and in 1999, it received the 39th Recommendation by the Minister of Education for Best Newcomer Artist  NORTH AMERICA Number of countries: 23 FAST FACTS Land size: Approx. 24.5 million square kms. Third largest continent in the world. Population: Approx. 592 million people. Fourth most populated continent in the world. Climate: Diverse range of climates - from the freezing tundra of northern Canada to the tropical rainforests of Central America. Landmarks: E.g., Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, and Niagara Falls.  NORTH AMERICA The earliest human inhabitants of North America were the Indigenous peoples, who arrived from Asia around 12,000 years ago. Today, North America is a major economic and cultural centre, with a thriving entertainment industry, world-class universities, and a diverse population. NORTH AMERICA  NOTABLE WRITERS IN NORTH AMERICA SHERMAN ALEXIE is one of the most famous Native American writers alive today. Alexie was brought up on the Spokane Indian Reservation and suffered numerous hardships in his childhood. Alexie had to undergo surgery when he was only 6-months old due to excess fluid in his brain. Alexie broke onto the American literary scene in 1993 with the publication of The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.  NOTABLE WRITERS IN NORTH AMERICA MARGARET ATWOOD She is a Canadian author who has numerous critically acclaimed novels to her credit. Some of her best-selling titles are "Oryx and Crake" (2003), "The Handmaid's Tale" (1986), and "The Blind Assassin" (2000). She is best known for her feminist and dystopian political themes, and her prolific output of work spans multiple genres, including poetry, short stories, and essays. She distinguishes her "speculative fiction" from science fiction because "science fiction has monsters and spaceships.  NOTABLE WRITERS IN NORTH AMERICA MARGARET ATWOOD She is a Canadian author who has numerous critically acclaimed novels to her credit. Some of her best-selling titles are "Oryx and Crake" (2003), "The Handmaid's Tale" (1986), and "The Blind Assassin" (2000). She is best known for her feminist and dystopian political themes, and her prolific output of work spans multiple genres, including poetry, short stories, and essays. She distinguishes her "speculative fiction" from science fiction because "science fiction has monsters and spaceships. AFRICA  AFRICA Number of countries: 54 FAST FACTS Land size: Approx. 30.2 million square kms. Second largest continent in the world. Population: Approx. 1.37 billion people. Second most populated continent in the world. Climate: Diverse range of climates - from the tropical regions of the Congo, to the hot Sahara desert. Landmarks: E.g., Pyramids in Egypt, Victoria Falls, Mt Kilimanjaro, Table Mountain  AFRICA Africa is the most genetically diverse continent on earth, with a greater range of genetic diversity than any other continent. It has a rich history and is home to some of the world's most ancient civilizations, including Egypt, Ethiopia, and Nubia.  NOTABLE WRITERS IN AFRICA CHINUA ACHEBE Was a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic. His first novel Things Fall Apart (1958), often considered his masterpiece, is the most widely read book in modern African literature. One of the world’s most widely recognized and praised writers He wrote some of the most extraordinary works of the 20th century. His most famous novel, Things Fall Apart (1958), Achebe is also a noted literary critic, particularly known for his passionate critique of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899)  NOTABLE WRITERS IN AFRICA AYI KWEI ARMAH (born 28 October 1939) is a Ghanaian writer best known for his novels including, Two Thousand Seasons (1973) and The Healers (1979). His novels are known for their intense, powerful depictions of political devastation and social frustration in Armah’s native Ghana, told from the point of view of the individual. His works were greatly influenced by French existential philosophers, such as Jean Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, and as such hold themes of despair, disillusionment and  NOTABLE WRITERS IN AFRICA NURUDDIN FARAH born in Somalia in 1945, has written numerous plays, novels and short stories, all of which revolve around his experiences of his native country. The title of his first novel from a Crooked Rib (1970) stems from a Somalian proverb “God created woman from a crooked rib, and anyone who tried to straighten it, breaketh it”, and He is a commentary on the sufferings of women in Somalian society through the narrative of a young woman trapped in an unhappy marriage.  NOTABLE WRITERS IN AFRICA AMINATTA FORNA (born 1964) is a Scottish and Sierra Leonean writer. She is the author of a memoir, The Devil That Danced on the Water, and four novels: Ancestor Stones (2006), The Memory of Love (2010), The Hired Man (2013) and Happiness (2018). Her novel The Memory of Love was awarded the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for "Best Book" in 2011 Her first drew attention for her memoir The Devil That Danced on Water (2003), an extraordinarily brave account of her family’s experiences living in war-torn Sierra Leone, and particularly her father’s tragic fate as a political dissident. Forna has gone on to write several novels, each of them critically acclaimed: her work The Memory of Love (2010) EUROPE  EUROPE Number of countries: 44 FAST FACTS Land size: Approx. 10.2 million square kms. Second smallest continent in the world. Population: Approx. 746 million people. Third most populated continent in the world. Climate: Diverse range of climates - from the freezing temperatures of the far north to the Mediterranean climate of southern Europe. Landmarks: E.g., Eiffel Tower in France, The Colosseum in Rome, Big Ben in England  EUROPE Europe has a long history of conflict, including two world wars in the 20th century. It is also known for its contributions to science, art, and philosophy. Europe is home to a wide variety of languages, including German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and many others.  NOTABLE WRITERS IN EUROPE JOANNE ROWLING born 31 July 1965), known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She is best known for writing the Harry Potter fantasy series, which has won multiple awards and sold more than 500 million copies, becoming the best-selling book series in history. The books are the basis of a popular film series, over which Rowling had overall approval on the scripts and was a producer on the final films. She also writes crime fiction under the pen name Robert Galbraith. Born in Yate, Gloucestershire.  NOTABLE WRITERS IN EUROPE MURIEL BARBERY (born 28 May 1969) is a French novelist. Her 2006 novel The Elegance of the Hedgehog quickly sold more than a million copies. Barbery was born in Casablanca, Morocco, but she and her parents moved when she was two months old. She taught philosophy at the Université de Bourgogne, in a Lycée, and at the Saint-Lô IUFM. Her novel L'Élégance du hérisson (translated by Alison Anderson as The Elegance of the Hedgehog) topped the French bestseller lists for 30 consecutive weeks and was reprinted 50 times, selling over a million copies by May 2008.  SOUTH AMERICA Number of countries: 12 FAST FACTS Land size: Approx. 17.8 million square kms. Fourth largest continent in the world. Population: Approx. 430 million people. Fifth most populated continent in the world. Climate: Diverse range of climates - from the arid deserts of northern Chile to the tropical rainforests of the Amazon Basin. Landmarks: E.g., Machu Picchu, Iguazu Falls, Galapagos Islands, Bolivian salt flats. SOUTH AMERICA South America has a rich history of ancient civilisations, including the Incas, Mayas, and Aztecs. It is home to the Amazon Rainforest, the world's largest rainforest, which covers an area of approximately 6.7 million square kilometres. SOUTH AMERICA  NOTABLE WRITERS IN LATIN AMERICA ISABEL ANGÉLICA ALLENDE LLON born in Lima, Peru, 2 August 1942) is a Chilean writer. Her works sometimes contain aspects of the genre magical realism, is known for novels such as The House of the Spirits (La casa de los espíritus, 1982) and City of the Beasts (La ciudad de las bestias, 2002), which have been commercially highly successful. She called "the world's most widely read Spanish-language author.“ granted United States citizenship in 1993, having lived in California since 1989.  NOTABLE WRITERS IN LATIN AMERICA GIANNINA BRASCHI (born February 5, 1953) is a Puerto Rican poet, novelist, dramatist, and scholar. Her notable works include Empire of Dreams (1988), Yo-Yo Boing! (1998) and United States of Banana (2011). She writes cross-genre literature and political philosophy in Spanish, Spanglish, and English. Her work is a hybrid of poetry, fiction, theatre, memoire, manifesto, and philosophy. Her writings explore the enculturation journey of Hispanic immigrants and dramatize the three main political options of Puerto Rico: independence, colony, and state.  DESIGNING A BOOK COVER Activity: Directions: After listening the discussions, you are tasked to come up and design your own BOOK COVER. Choose any book title written and authored by the different personalities mentioned in the article. Since you have not really read their books, use your creativity, imagination, and common sense to design the book cover. Make sure that your cover page will give us an overview of what the book is all about.  Performance Tasks You are a freelance blogger in an online literary magazine. You need to write a 500-word feature article on a contemporary (21st Century) author either local or national. Do an online search on a noteworthy writer and his/her contribution to the society relative to his/her work. Make sure that your feature provides the following information: background of the author, a short overview of the authors literary works (books, online or print publications etc.), short sampling of the authors work/s together with your commentary. End the article by highlighting what are the author’s contribution to contemporary literature where you can include his/her causes or advocacies based on the common themes found in his/her work. Write this activity on 1 whole sheet of paper. Rubrics for writing Composition: Europe has a long history of conflict, including two world wars in the 20th century. It is also known for its contributions to science, art, and philosophy. Europe is home to a wide variety of languages, including German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and many others. ASSESSMENT ASSESSMENT ANSWER KEY Africa is the most genetically diverse continent on earth, with a greater range of genetic diversity than any other continent. It has a rich history and is home to some of the world's most ancient civilisations, including Egypt, Ethiopia, and Nubia. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING