This comparative study of theory and literature illustrates the complexity of colonial and canonical marginalization on the bases of race, class, and gender. Through the use of cultural criticism and selected British, African, African American, Native American, and Caribbean texts, Canonization, Colonization, Decolonization demonstrates how colonialism and the traditional literary canon exploit and oppress, how writers of color have turned «stumbling blocks» into «stepping stones,» how subtleties of literary and cultural imperialism can undermine the process of decolonization, and how prosperity succeeds where adversity has failed to trap writers of color into compromise and complacency. It advocates that works by writers of color reflect a multiplicity of interdisciplinarity, intertextuality, and multiculturalism - the hallmark of a new, discovering, and creative literature.