The Literary Legacy of the Kennedy Assassination

The Literary Legacy of the Kennedy Assassination: True Crime Tragedy surveys and analyzes literary representations of the 1963 JFK assassination in Dallas. The book argues for understanding the assassination as a true crime event. As true crime narratives, the Zapruder film and the Warren Report introduced intertextual symbols of American violence that continue to shape and engage with 20th-century literature. Exploring the literary dimensions of JFK as a murder victim, Jacqueline Kennedy’s pink suit, Lee Harvey Oswald as a ghost, assassination poems and songs, comic and graphic narratives, and other topics, the book establishes a foundation for approaching the assassination as a literary event. The physical features of Dealey Plaza, including the grassy knoll and sixth-floor window, exist alongside canonical places and moments from 20th-century literature and beyond. Appropriate for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, scholars, and libraries, this book is written in an accessible style that will also engage general audiences interested in literature and the assassination. The author includes anecdotes of firsthand research in Dealey Plaza and reflections on how the assassination can be referenced in teaching and learning.