American literary theorists

Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as one of the central figures of Romanticism and Gothic fiction in the United States and of early American literature. Poe was one of the country's first successful practitioners of the short story, and is generally considered to be one of the pioneers of the detective fiction genre. In addition, he is credited with contributing significantly to the emergence of science fiction. He is the first well-known American writer to earn a living exclusively through writing, which resulted in a financially difficult life and career.

American author and journalist (1899–1961)

American author and screenwriter (1920–2012)

American author (1922–2007)

American poet and critic (1885–1972)

American feminist gender studies philosopher (born 1956)

American writer (1925–2012)

American author (born 1938)

American science fiction and fantasy author (1921–1975)

Novelist, short story writer (1873–1945)

American journalist and novelist (1870-1902)

Belgian literary theorist (1919–1983)

American literary critic, professor and historian (born 1950)

American writer (1910–1970)

American literary theorist (1912–2015)

American poet, editor, literary critic, soldier (1886–1918)

American philosopher

American writer (1793–1876)

American philosopher

American historian, writer and academic

Maltese-American literary scholar (1947-2019)

American academic scholar, translator, and fiction writer

American professor

Literary theorist and emeritus university professor of French at the University of California, Berkeley.

philosopher

American writer (born 1934)

German-born American literary scholar, Holocaust survivor, and Ritchie Boys interrogator (1922–2023)

American literary theorist

American literary theoretician

American literary critic (1912–1994)

English literature scholar

American academic (1943–2022)

American academic