CONTEMPORARY PERIOD (1945 - 1972)

To a certain extent, what was said of American literature between 1914 - 1945 holds true for the period between 1945 - 1972: it is a period of great diversity in form but, on the whole, Realism, Naturalism, and psychological fiction still predominated.
It might prove extremely artificial to draw a line dividing literature into Modern and Contemporary Periods because most of the authors who in one period continued to produce in the next and, thereforem should be included in both.
However, one can detect new directions in the literary production of America in the areas of fiction, poetry, and drama after 1945.
For didactic purposes, we will consider contemporary prose, poetry, and drama separately.

By Marisis Aranha Camargo