Jonathan Edwards

An item at American Writers Museum

In his Personal Narrative, Jonathan Edwards writes about his spiritual conversion at age 17. He went on to serve as a minister in Northampton, Massachusetts, and a missionary in nearby Native American communities. Both his autobiography and his sermons contain potent, vivid imagery depicting God's anger at human failings as well as the beauty that comes with God's grace.

Edwards's words captured the public's attention, putting him at the center of the "Great Awakening." This religious movement of the early 1700s transformed American Protestantism, reshaping ideas about God and individual spiritualism.

AMERICAN VOICES

An exhibit at American Writers Museum

American writing is distinctive, diverse, and comes in many forms from across the nation. The 100 authors featured here represent the evolution of American writing. Learn more about each writer on the timeline by turning the panels below their portraits. Explore centuries of writing by pulling, turning, and touching the interactive elements on the counter.

This is not meant to be a list of the greatest or most influential writers. Instead, we present authors and works as part of the American story as it grows and changes. Taken together, this rich literary heritage reflects America in all of its complexity: its energy, hope, conflict, disillusionment, and creativity.

American Writers Museum