Students respond powerfully to literature when it explores issues that matter to them, such as how love can be compromised by the demands of tradition, how authoritarian injustice can be resisted, and how popular culture influences behavior. And when students learn to analyze and argue for how literature engages such issues and exerts such power, they develop and hone their critical thinking and writing skills.

In its fifth editionMaking Literature Mattercontinues to deliver on the promise of its title. Its thematic anthology gathers memorable stories, poems, plays, and essays into unique literary clusters addressing issues that rouse passionate responses in students. At the same time, its comprehensive rhetoric shows students how to harness those responses into thoughtful arguments about the issues raised by the clusters and the literature.