Writing in America

I have been thinking recently about some of the great American writers. One of the great gifts bestowed upon this nation is that our primary language is the greatest on Earth, English. No other language has the depth and subtlety of the English language. It is not politically correct to say that the English language is the greatest language ever, but the truth is, it is. No other language comes close.
All of that being said, America has produced some fantastic writers and poets from the earliest years of the republic: Washington Irving; James Fenimore Cooper; Herman Melville; Emily Dickinson; Nathaniel Hawthorne; Walt Whitman; Edgar Allan Poe; Mark Twain; F. Scott Fitzgerald; Ernest Hemingway; Tennessee Williams; William Faulkiner; Robert Frost; the list could go on. But of this group, there are five in my opinion that stand out. They are the ones who have written the great American novels or poem. They are James Fenimore Cooper; Nathaniel Hawthorne; Walt Whitman; Mark Twain; and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Here is my case.
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
First, not many people read Cooper in the original anymore; he doesn't always translate well into modern America. Cooper writes of a time even before the American Revolution. The events of 1773-1782 were over 10 years in the future from his greatest work, "The Last of the Mohicans". But it is shame that more people are only familiar with his work through the recent movie adaptation Mohicans. The movie, though very, very, good and relatively faithful in its adaptation, cannot in the end capture the vitality of Cooper's work. Understanding when Cooper was writing is key to understanding why he is one of the "big five" of American writing.
Cooper was writing in the early 1800's. The revolution was fading into the background of the times and Cooper is taking a look back into a time before the Republic. By doing this, he is giving a story to his contemporaries of who we were and now know who they are. His story gives us tragedy, triumph, irony, love, war and ultimately a sense of destiny. This played well in the early years of the country. Reading Cooper today is like looking back at diary cataloguing hopes and fears of the past. It allows the reader to decide whether those events were worth the cost. Cooper is holding up a mirror to his society and asking, this is where we were, do you like what we have become? It is still the great question.
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
Hawthorne is the writer who asks questions of religious hypocrisy, vengeance, guilt, innocence, betrayal, and loyalty. "The Scarlet Letter' is the book of the New England Puritan experience. But the story is timeless; it rings true today. Replace the Puritans with any group completely sure of their own righteousness and the story plays out just as well. And lest anyone think only the religious right is the only group that meets that criteria, I assure you that it does not. Think of any group with enforced orthodoxy (liberalism; environmentalism; the religious right; and so on) and I am certain there is a Hester Prynne somewhere in that group.
Like Cooper, Hawthorne is writing of a time that had past. Hawthorne is writing of what was the distant past even for him. But by doing so, he again is holding up the mirror to contemporary society and to society today that asks the question, "which one are you?" Are you Hester Prynne? Dimmesdale? Or even worse still, Chillingworth? The truth is that all of us are these characters: the fallen woman in need of redemption; the cowardly minister, righteous to the outside world but guilty inside; the inquisitor who thinks nothing of his fellow souls and only seeks his personal revenge. "The Scarlet Letter" is a timeless novel and should be read at multiple times in our lives. the
WALT WHITMAN
Walt Whitman is not only he great American poet, but also a revolutionary voice in poetry. Whitman through his use of free verse helped defined what poetry is and can be.
There is something slightly crazy about Whitman, though that could be easily be applied to many poets. There is a line that starts with Whitman and runs all the way down through the beat poets such as Allen Ginsberg and even down to us today. There is simply no American poetry without him.
MARK TWAIN
You cannot discuss American fiction without mentioning Twain. If Twain had written no other book than "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" he would have been considered one of if not the greatest American writer. You cannot understand America past or present without a thorough reading of Twain and most especially Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry Finn is satire and social commentary. The book has comedy, but also examines themes of race and identity in America. Even today, over 100 years after its initial publishing, the book is controversial.
But Twain wrote much more than Huckleberry Finn. One of his more interesting books is "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court". The book starts out as broad comedy but ends in a technological apocalypse with mass murder. Twain by the time of the writing of Yankee had traveled a long distance from the frolic of "Tom Sawyer" and the gentle satire of "Innocents Abroad". Twain would eventually travel further down a spiral of bitterness from which he never truly recovered. To read Twain, all of Twain, is to move from hope to disillusionment. That too is also very American.
F. SCOTT FITZGERALD
Fitzgerald is the great novelist of 20^th Century America. "The Great Gatsby" is his greatest work. Into that slim volume, Fitzgerald asks questions about wealth, class, and the power of unrequited love. Gatsby is a book that must be read. There have been several film adaptations, but they all fall short. The analogies, the language does not translate to the screen.
Fitzgerald was the author who finally blew the covers off capitalist America. There is simply nothing I can write about Fitzgerald. He said it all.
CONCLUSION
OK, if anyone is out there, I welcome comments, those that are on point and concise, of course. And my list can be argued but I believe that these five are the absolute core of American literature. So if anyone disagrees I welcome your rebuttal.

Seeking Euphoria

I think "Euphoria" is one of my favorite words.  Just say it out loud and listen to the sound of it.  It is actually fun to say.  Euphoria.  However, as phonetically fun as euphoria is, very few of us experience a sense of euphoria during our lives.

If you look up "euphoria" on the internet, it is described as a feeling of transcendent well being.  If you continue doing research, several online sites indicate that the only people who experience true euphoria (outside of drug induced states) are children during periods of play and athletes who have won a victory after strenuous exertion. The biological reason for this seems to be a release of endorphins in the brain.

Calvin Klein will actually try to sell you a bottle of Euphoria.  I am certain it is a wonderful fragrance and you have to admire the slick marketing, but I have my doubts that by dabbing on cologne that I will have that almost out of body experience that true euphoria is said to provide.

So the question remains, can someone experience true euphoria outside of the endorphin rush and outisde of being a child?  I think the answer is actually a qualified yes.  I think it is rare, but I believe that I have been in a euphoric state on occasion.  I have experienced it out in nature; in a great piece of music; or sometimes just being home with family or friends.

The bottom line on "Euphoria" is there.  It's real.  It happens.  I sincerely hope everyone can experience it.