L2L The Great American Novel? (ft. Roger Smith)

The Great American Novel?

Lectures at The Learning Center

Is there any such thing as the “great American novel”? What would it convey about the American experience? And why don’t we speak of the “great English novel” or the “great French novel”? Three centuries of literature offer an overwhelming array of American authors and works, genres and themes. Any number of these novels can and do speak for the United States. Roger Smith, American literature teacher and director of The Learning Center, joins Leigh, P. T., and Dr. C. to discuss whether such a work is a “national epic” and to nominate (and spar over!) some candidates.