An Ecology of World Literature: From Antiquity to the Present Day

“Extraordinary in its sweep across time and space, Alexander Beecroft’s new book insightfully distinguishes among various groupings or ‘ecologies’ of world literature. Admirably lucid, engaging, and ambitious, it encompasses literary cultures at every scale, from the most local to the national and global. It is sure to help energize comparative literary studies for years to come.” —Jahan Ramazani, author of A Transnational Poetics “A profound undertaking … The journey through the six ecologies Beecroft lays out is altogether fascinating and staggering in breadth and depth.”—Alexa Firat, Journal of the Society for Contemporary Thought and the Islamicate World “Perhaps, after all, we are not yet in the full era of the world text. And for this reason, it is useful to have Alexander Beecroft’s book, An Ecology of World Literature, in which our possibily incipient era of Weltliteratur is given a history—zigzagging from ancient China to modern Europe.” —Adam Thirlwell, Times Literary Supplement “Beecroft′s approach provides a useful means of comparing literatures across time and language and dares to speculate what might be in store for the future. Well-written and clearly argued.″ —Library Journal“Approaches the classification of world literature from a truly distinctive standpoint … Beecroft′s ability to negotiate Eastern and Western literatures while avoiding the dichotomy so common to discussing these traditions is astonishing in scope and expertise.”—Choice