Social Engagement and Multiculturalism in Louis Adamic’s Literary Journalism and Documentary Prose

Abstract

The article focuses on those texts by Louis Adamic that, by employing the principles of literary journalism, create an authentic discourse (which is simultaneously subjective and documentary) for the description of both current and past events, and successfully place Adamic alongside more recognizable names in the field of literary journalism. The article also explains the characteristics of literary journalism and identifies the traits of this genre in those of Adamic’s works that involve a multi­culturalist criticism of the homogenizing impact of dominant cultures and reveal a powerful social agenda (Dynamite, Laughing in the Jungle, My America, The Native’s Return, and A Nation of Nations).