The modernist movement has shaped our era as has no other. This collection of essays explores the impact of modernism on American culture and the ways in which modernism remains a key to understanding American art and society. The contributors examine the works and their creators across the whole spectrum of artistic expression - fiction and poetry, painting and sculpture, architecture, dance, photography, and film. They explore how the ideas of modernism helped shape such artistic expressions as the writings of the Harlem Renaissance, the paintings of Edward Hopper, New Deal public art projects, and George Antheil's "Ballet Mecanique".