Vanessa Apuan
American Ethnic Literature
March 1, 2013
Julie Kares
Eng/301

American Ethnic Literature American literature is written by writers who are American. The novel must be about American culture and social values. Also having an American style setting that only a citizen would know. From the beginning of America, we have had a unique philosophy of life and freedom which is always reflected in our literature. American literature allows others to view and understand that Americans have made lives for themselves. A popular definition for a literary canon refers to religious validity, implying that the canonized works are officially recognized by a church and are considered religiously appropriate. Literary canon refers to a classification of literature. This term is widely used for a group of literary works that are considered the most important of a certain time period or place. There can be canons made of works from a certain country or a certain set of years. Literary canons establish a collection of similar or related literary works. There are many ways in which literary works can be classified, but a literary canon adds certain validity to a work of literature. When a work is accepted into a canon it gains a status of greatness which will make it widely studied and respected. Literary critics, scholars, teachers and anyone whose opinions are respected are who will decide if a work will be canonized. There are no specific qualifications for canonization.