While American and European writers are still central to many countries' school curricula, more and more students and teachers are discovering the great literary works outside the Western tradition. These works grew out of a different set of cultural contexts; thus they are often difficult for students who are unfamiliar with those cultures to understand. At the same time, a careful consideration of these masterpieces helps students understand other cultures and provides a greater understanding of the traditions that have shaped multicultural societies. This book introduces school students to 10 masterpieces of non-Western literature.Chapters cover the following works: the ancient Mesopotamian apic "Gilgamesh"; the "Sanskrit Mahabharata"; "Sundiata", the tale of a legendary king of Mali; the "Gitagovinda", a twelfth-century Indian cycle of poems; the Chinese poems of "Li Po"; "The Tale of Genji", by Lady Murasaki, a Japanese work often considered the first novel; the "Journey to the West" by Wu Ch'eng-en, a classic Chinese work that became the basis for the TV series Monkey; "The Conference of Birds" by Farid ud-Din 'Attar, a medieval Persian book of poems; the epic Vietnamese poem, "The Tale of Kieu" by Nguyen Du; and the Native Mexican legend "Quetzalcoatl". Each chapter discusses the work's historical and cultural background, plot, characters, major themes, and lasting influence. Chapters cite works for further reading, and the book closes with a bibliography.