American Writers: A Journey Through History

As is the case with many C-SPAN programs, it aired live and heavily incorporated calls from viewers:

"It's not perfectly packaged and beautifully produced," said Susan Swain, executive vice president of C-Span. "There isn't a narrator who weaves it together. It's a bit unpredictable. I don't know what my guests are going to say."[3]

Originally, the series was scheduled to air entirely in 2001, and it followed that schedule up to a profile of Will Rogers that aired on September 10, 2001. However, following the 9/11 attacks, C-SPAN management determined that the network needed to focus on events related to the attacks, and the subsequent programs were put on hold until March 2002.[4] When originally planned, the profile of H.L. Mencken of Baltimore was scheduled to follow that of Will Rogers. Instead, C-SPAN producers opted to postpone the Mencken show, and return with one about the Harlem Renaissance, to honor the role of New York City in the 9/11 attacks.[5] The series returned on March 31, 2002, opening with shots of 135th Street in Harlem, and continued through the final profile on July 7, 2002, which was a discussion with Neil Sheehan and David Halberstam at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.[6] The group of programs aired in 2002 were sometimes referred to as American Writers II: The 20th Century.[7]

As a companion volume to the series, Merriam-Webster published the Dictionary of American Writers in 2001, which contained brief entries on a wide variety of writers, many of whom were not profiled in the series.[8]

The choice of which writers to profile was (by its very nature) subjective, unlike C-SPAN's similar 1999 series American Presidents: Life Portraits, because there were a fixed number of U.S. presidents but not a fixed number of American writers. For instance, Herman Melville was not profiled.[9] There were also criticisms of the manner in which certain authors were presented, such as Ayn Rand.[10]

The stated criteria for selection were the following:

• "Writers whose works-–whether fiction or non-fiction, document or book–-chronicled, reflected upon, or influenced the course of our nation's history."
• "Works which represent four centuries of American history, from the nation's founding to Vietnam."
• "Writers who are essentially American."
• "Writers whose works continue to be studied."
• "An overall list which offers some demographic, cultural, and political diversity."
• "Works which are generally available to the public."[11]

Programs were organized into eight chronological groups, shown below.

Note: In addition to the interviewees listed, each program featured a variety of other experts, many of whom were employed by or volunteered for the historical sites from which the programs were being broadcast.

• Official website