Among the many literary works in the United States, the greatest essay is a difficult one to answer. There isn’t a single work that can be considered the ultimate. However there are a lot of works that have gained the highest level of recognition.
David Foster Wallace
During his life, David Foster Wallace published three stories in three collections as well as two novels. His writing was rich in linguistics, thematically engaging and structurally unique. He also wrote brilliant critiques of liberal humanism.
David Foster Wallace is known as “the Joyce of our time” and his style of writing is among the finest of the past century. Wallace’s writings have been adapted into numerous films. His work has been recognized with many awards including the Gail Kennedy Memorial Prize. Wallace was not an overnight success however his work continued to grow even after his death.
Susan Orlean
Susan Orlean has been a prolific author throughout her career. She has served as an editor to Vogue, Rolling Stone, and The New Yorker. She has spoken out about women in media and travels around the across the globe. She has also written essays about animals. Her most popular works include Rin, Tin, Tin and The Orchid Thief Both are bestsellers.
Orlean is a national treasure. Orlean is gifted at writing about people or places that no one else has. Her essays are both educational and entertaining.
Philip Lopate
The best essayist in the USA, Phillip Lopate has written numerous essays, novellas, and poetry. He edited The Art of the Personal Essay (a landmark anthology of personal essays, first published in 1994). He has also written numerous books on literary non-fiction.
The style of writing of Lopate is characterized by a humorous miscellany that radiates intimacy without ever descending into confessional. In his preface, Lopate outlines the values of the personal essay. He then introduces the authors of his book. They include a literary giant like William Hazlitt and a one page essay outline venerable natural writer like Rachel Carson. A famous essayist such as William Zeiger and a poet like William Stafford.
Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith has won a variety of awards throughout her career. She was named one of the Granta 20 Best Young British Novelists in 2013. Her novel White Teeth earned her the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2013. She was also nominated to receive the Man Booker Prize. In addition, she has been awarded the PEN/Audible Literary Service Award, the Whitbread First Novel Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and the Commonwealth Writers’ Best Book Award.
Feel Free, Zadie Smith’s new book (published in 2018) comprises essays. It includes a selection of her personal essays on her father. The essays are a mix of criticism, memoir, and journalism. The author also incorporates some of her personal interests and influences into the collection.
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes was a key interpreter of the American experience of African-Americans during the period between World War II, and the civil rights movement. He was an influential poet actor, dramatist, and social writer. His poems explored generational differences, obstacles encountered over time, as well as disappointments when not achieving one’s goals.
In his early life, Hughes was raised by his grandmother in Lawrence, Kansas. His father’s family adopted him into Joplin, Missouri. Hughes His father was a racist. His son wanted to attend Cleveland high school. However, the father and son did not see eye to eye.
W. E. B. Dubois
Educator, author and social critic William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was a man who lived beyond his years. He was a tireless advocate for African Americans and helped to found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. His most famous essay is a book about the cultural and historical background of the African American community, is an important piece of civil rights literature.
The book is a compilation of DuBois’s observations about the history of the African American community. The book was also a success in the field of education, since DuBois wanted to help students gain a better understanding of the African American experience.
John Dewey
Through his entire life, John Dewey was a renowned philosopher, social activist and educator. He is most well-known for his research into the philosophy of education and society. He was a key figure in a variety of social reforms. He believed in a democracy which gives all people equal rights. He also advocated for women’s rights to vote, and founded the NAACP.
Although he was known as an atheist, John Dewey was a philosopher, and his writings span from highly technical works on logic to popular magazines. Despite his interest in the past, John Dewey never commented on religion or sexuality.