Which Canonical American Authors Are People Reading?

Abstract

Explore library checkout trends for 90+ authors from The Norton Anthology of American Literature (1945-).

Introduction

This interactive explorer invites you to dive into nearly two decades of Seattle Public Library checkout data for authors included in the Norton Anthology of American Literature (1945-). The checkout covers 2005–2025 and lets you see which authors and works have circulated most heavily in Seattle during this period.

The Norton Anthology of American Literature.

You can trace spikes of attention after major life events, like an author’s death, or explore how adaptations and cultural conversations bring older works back into circulation.

We encourage you to use the explorer to follow your own interests! However you approach it, the explorer is designed to give you a hands-on way to engage with the living, changing canon of American literature.

Explore Reading Trends from 2005-2025

import {viewof mode,
viewof selection,
plot,
viewof tableTopAuthors,
viewof tableTopTitles,
viewof num_titles,
viewof num_authors,
table,
author_plot,
title_plot,
headingBlock,
headingBlock2,
viewof selectionInput,
viewof suggestedOptions,
viewof mode2,
viewof tableTopTitlesMode,
viewof tableTopTitlesFiltered
} from "2bced81a9de1ac10"

Top Titles and Authors

viewof mode2

viewof tableTopTitlesMode

Explore Any Author or Title

viewof mode

headingBlock

plot

viewof suggestedOptions

md`You can pick any author from *The Norton Anthology of American Literature* (1945-) or any of their works that have been checked out by patrons of the Seattle Public Library.`

viewof selectionInput

md`## Top Titles`

viewof tableTopTitlesFiltered