The Routledge Companion to Working-Class Literature

Book excerpt: The Routledge Companion to Working-Class Literature provides an overview of the history, theory, and analysis of working-class literature. Taking a global and intersectional approach, the Companion demonstrates that literature is central to the (re)interpretation of the working class, a process that involves rereading the past as well as mapping the present. The collection examines how working-class literature is defined and the functions the term serves. It maps current debates and traces the ways in which a wide variety of theoretical and political movements have shaped the field. Challenging the stereotypical view that working-class writing is concerned solely with white, male industrial labourers in the Global North, the volume features chapters on subjects from early modern writing about the poor in England to contemporary poetry by Asian migrant workers. Exploring the theoretical problems of writing about class as well as providing detailed readings of specific texts, it demonstrates the richness and diversity of this rapidly developing field and looks to the future of working-class literature. The Routledge Companion to Working-Class Literature is an accessible, wide-ranging resource. It emphasizes difference and debate, bringing distinct texts, traditions, and critical perspectives into dialogue and is essential for any student or researcher looking at concepts of class within literary studies.