Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. To meet a need which had been felt for some time both in the United States and abroad, the pamphlet series, the University of Minnesota Pamphlets on American Writers, was established in 1959. By providing readable critical introductions to American Writers, the pamphlets were designed to meet the needs and tastes of mature students and readers of imaginative literature throughout the world. Each pamphlet presents a brief biography of a writer, a longer critical analysis and evaluation of his or her work, and a selected bibliography of his or her books and articles about him or her. Editors of the series were William Van O’Connor, Allen Tate, and Robert Penn Warren. There was an advisory board consisting of William Thorp, Karl Shapiro, and Philip Rahv.

Edward L. Hirsh was a professor of English at Boston College.