PBS
S. E. Hinton, Danny Boy O'Connor, and The Outsiders
Could your 16-year-old students write a novel? S.E. Hinton did! An engaging video reviews the setting and themes of Hinton's breakout novel The Outsiders through the perspective of hip-hop artist Danny Boy O'Connor, as well as the author...
TED-Ed
Notes of a Native Son: The World According to James Baldwin
Why would the FBI have perceived James Baldwin as a threat to national security? Why did they consider this preacher, writer, thinker, expat, activist so dangerous while Robert Kennedy and other government officials considered him an...
Crash Course
Little Theater and American Avant Garde: Crash Course Theater #40
When it comes to quality theater, Americans were tardy to the party. A video on early American theater, number 40 on the Crash Course Drama and Theater playlist, shares information about plays during the early 20th century. ...
TED-Ed
Why Should You Read Flannery O’Connor?
There is more to literature of the American South than Civil War battles and Scarlett O'Hara. A short video introduces viewers to the works of Flannery O'Connor and her world of unique characters that causes readers to consider the dark...
Lit2Go
The Call of the Wild
When the wild calls, answer. Jack London's classic novel The Call of the Wild gets a digital upgrade with an e-text and audiobook version of the story. Each chapter of the online version is labeled with the Flesch-Kincaid level and...
Other
Wired for Books: Art Buchwald
Great interview audio of Art Buchwald and Don Swain. Among other things the two discuss politics, NYC and the media. Includes portrait photo.
Learn Out Loud
Learn Out Loud: Free American Classics
Over 150 audio texts from writers like Mark Twain, Jack London, Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and many others. The list includes many classics that are taught in middle school or high school.
Favorite Poem Project
The Favorite Poem Project: "I'm Nobody! Who Are You?" by Emily Dickinson
In this video episode [5:32] from Favorite Poem Project, Yina Liang, a 16 year-old girl, describes her life and explains why Emily Dickinson's poem entitled "I'm Nobody! Who Are You?" is an inspiration to her life. Liang reads aloud "I'm...
National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts: The Big Read: The Grapes for Wrath
Resource provides a description and a guide to John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, with historical information, author biography, discussion questions, and a ten-lesson unit of study including activities, homework assignments, project...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Voices & Visions: Elizabeth Bishop
Information about Elizabeth Bishop and her poetry. Includes a video (with transcript) on the life and works of the poet. Part of the "Voices and Visions" series by Annenberg Media. [57:29]
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Voices & Visions: Langston Hughes
James Baldwin and biographer Arnold Rampersad discuss the works and influence of African American writer Langston Hughes. There are also several links to other resources about Hughes. Video is part of a series entitled "Voices and...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Voices & Visions: Robert Lowell
Video on the life and poetry of Robert Lowell. There are also several links to other resources about Lowell. Part of a 13-episode video series entitled "Voices and Visions." Lowell reads his poetry himself and others discuss his style....
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Voices & Visions: Marianne Moore
Video on the life and works of poet Marianne Moore where her friends and critics analyze her work. There are also links to several other resources about Moore. Part of a 13-episode video series entitled "Voices and Visions." [58:49]
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Voices & Visions: Ezra Pound
Part of a video series that "explores the lives and works of 13 of America's most famous poets," this site consists of a video (with transcript) and a series of links to resources about Pound, including an excerpt of "Canto LXXXI." [56:59]
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Voices & Visions: Wallace Stevens
Archival footage illustrates Wallace Stevens's poetry in a video from "Voices and Visions," a 13-episode series on American poets. There are also several links to other resources about Stevens. Includes a video transcript. [57:54]
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Voices & Visions: Walt Whitman
Video on the life and poetry of Walt Whitman. Includes a video transcript. There are also several links to other resources about Whitman. [57:01]
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Voices & Visions
Thirteen videos on the works and lives of renowned American poets, including Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, and Robert Frost. With performances, interviews, and dramatic readings.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: American Masters: Willa Cather's Childhood
This video [4:32] from the American Masters film Willa Cather: The Road Is All provides an overview of the author's childhood. Born in Virginia, Cather's family moved to Nebraska in the aftermath of the Civil War.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Meet Willa Cather
This video [2:24] from the American Masters film Willa Cather: The Road Is All introduces students to the novelist and her work. Cather wrote some of the most unforgettable prose of the 20th century and won various awards, including the...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: American Masters Collection: Alice Walker
This is a collection of three video lessons about Alice Walker and her works from the PBS American Masters Collection.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Carl Sandburg: Poet of the People
In this video [3:17] from American Masters: The Day Carl Sandburg Died, students learn about Carl Sandburg and his early days as a "poet of the people." As a young man, Sandburg worked as an organizer for the Social-Democratic Party of...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: American Masters Collection: Carl Sandburg
This is a collection of lesson videos about Carl Sandburg and his works from the PBS American Masters Collection.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: I Work Every Day: American Masters
In this video segment [3:31], award winning novelist Phillip Roth elaborates on the details of his writing process and work environment preferences. Roth strongly believes that "life isn't good enough" as a point of reference when it...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: American Masters Collection: Edgar Allan Poe
This is a collection of six video lessons about Edgar Allan Poe and his works from the PBS American Masters Collection. Teaching materials are included.