- published: 15 Nov 2012
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English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, V.S. Naipaul was born in Trinidad, and Vladimir Nabokov was Russian, but all are considered important writers in the history of English literature. In other words, English literature is as diverse as the varieties and dialects of English spoken around the world. In academia, the term often labels departments and programmes practising English studies in secondary and tertiary educational systems. Despite the variety of authors of English literature, the works of William Shakespeare remain paramount throughout the English-speaking world.
This article primarily deals with some of the literature from Britain written in English. For literature from specific English-speaking regions, consult the see also section, bottom of the page.
Jane Austen (16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature. Her realism and biting social commentary has gained her historical importance among scholars and critics.
Austen lived her entire life as part of a close-knit family located on the lower fringes of the English landed gentry. She was educated primarily by her father and older brothers as well as through her own reading. The steadfast support of her family was critical to her development as a professional writer. Her artistic apprenticeship lasted from her teenage years into her thirties. During this period, she experimented with various literary forms, including the epistolary novel which she tried then abandoned, and wrote and extensively revised three major novels and began a fourth. From 1811 until 1816, with the release of Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1816), she achieved success as a published writer. She wrote two additional novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, both published posthumously in 1818, and began a third, which was eventually titled Sanditon, but died before completing it.
Lena Park, also known as Park Jung-hyun, (born March 23, 1976 in Los Angeles), is a Korean-American R&B singer. Early in her life, Park showed talent for singing, mainly in the choir of her father's church in Downey with her siblings Brian and Uriah. She also learned to play saxophone and piano. As of June 2007, Park has released 8 Korean albums, 2 Korean singles, 3 Japanese albums and 7 Japanese singles. Park is often referred to as the R&B Queen, considered one of the best female singers in Korea.
Park won several singing contests in the United States before recording a Gospel album in 1993. She continued her studies while doing many performances. She attended UCLA for a year before she began a career as a singer beginning with her first Korean album, Piece, in 1998. Park's first album sold more than 500,000 copies despite her not being comfortable enough to do promotions on talk shows. She did not learn to speak Korean very well until she released her first album.[citation needed]
In 1999, A Second Helping was released. It also was well received by both fans and the critics. Park's third album, "Naturally", was mixed in both South Korea and the USA.