Winner of the Elizabeth Agee Prize in American Literature
Join Ernest & Hadley Booksellers for an engaging evening with Dr. Jeffrey Melton as he discusses his award-winning work, The American Open Road: Narrative and Popular Imagination. This event will take place in the Brick House and offers readers a chance to explore one of the most enduring myths in American culture: the open road.
📅 Thursday, January 22
⏰ 5:30–7:00 PM
📍 Ernest & Hadley Booksellers | Brick House
🎟️ Registration is encouraged
About the book:
The rearview mirror perspective of a road trip across the American “open road.”
The American Open Road: Narrative and Popular Imagination offers a rich exploration of how the mythos of the open road has shaped, and been shaped by, American culture. Beginning with the post–World War II boom that solidified car culture as central to American life, Melton reflects on how roads, automobiles, and landscapes have been represented in literature, film, and other cultural texts, highlighting the interplay between mobility and narrative.
Drawing on a wide range of cultural texts, from traditional classic road novels and cinematic presentations, to advertisements, poetry, and prose, Melton examines how the open road functions as a symbol of autonomy, reinvention, and resistance. He highlights how road narratives have also exposed deeper tensions in American life—especially around race, gender, and power—and how historically marginalized voices have used the road to reclaim space and tell new stories.
From the romanticism of Route 66 to the political edge of modern road films, The American Open Road offers a thoughtful, engaging analysis of the narratives that continue to define American identity and longing. For readers interested in cultural history, travel literature, or the enduring pull of the highway, this book offers a compelling view from the passenger seat of America’s most iconic journeys.
This conversation will appeal to readers interested in American studies, cultural history, travel writing, film and literature, and anyone drawn to the enduring pull of the highway.
📚 Copies of The American Open Road will be available for purchase at the event.
👉 Registration is encouraged. Reserve your spot and join us for this thoughtful and timely discussion: https://bit.ly/jmelton1
