American Literary Centers (from Literature and Life) E-Book

William Dean Howells

• Herausgeber: Booksell-Verlag
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

In "American Literary Centers," William Dean Howells offers a profound exploration of the cultural and intellectual landscapes that shaped American literature from the mid-19th to the early 20th century. Through a series of engaging essays, Howells examines the emergence of literary hubs such as Boston and New York, revealing how these cities fostered artistic innovation and community among writers. His analytical yet approachable style, infused with sharp observations, not only illuminates the trends of his era but also weaves personal anecdotes, creating a tapestry that reflects on the interplay between literature and society during a pivotal time in American history. William Dean Howells, often regarded as the "Dean of American Letters," was deeply intertwined with the literary movements of his time. As a novelist, critic, and editor, Howells championed realism and cultivated relationships with contemporaries like Mark Twain and Henry James. His dedication to elucidating the American experience through literature greatly influenced the course of American fiction, making him acutely aware of the significant literary centers that shaped national identity and cultural dialogue. Readers seeking to understand the evolution of American literature will find "American Literary Centers" an invaluable resource. Howells' insightful critiques and vibrant portrayals not only celebrate the literary tradition but also invite readers to reflect on the impact of place on creative expression, making this work essential for both scholars and casual readers alike.

Leseprobe

William Dean Howells

American Literary Centers (from Literature and Life)

Published by Good Press, 2019

[email protected]

EAN 4064066173784

Table of Contents

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PG EDITOR'S BOOKMARKS

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Table of Contents

Here, if I cut my coat according to my cloth, t should have a garment which this whole volume would hardly stuff out with its form; and I have a fancy that if I begin by answering, as I have sometimes rather too succinctly done, that we have no more a single literary centre than Italy or than Germany has (or had before their unification), I shall not be taken at my word. I shall be right, all the same, and if I am told that in those countries there is now a tendency to such a centre, I can only say that there is none in this, and that, so far as I can see, we get further every day from having such a centre. The fault, if it is a fault, grows upon us, for the whole present tendency of American life is centrifugal, and just so far as literature is the language of our life, it shares this tendency. I do not attempt to say how it will be when, in order to spread ourselves over the earth, and convincingly to preach the blessings of our deeply incorporated civilization by the mouths of our eight-inch guns, the mind of the nation shall be politically centred at some capital; that is the function of prophecy, and I am only writing literary history, on a very small scale, with a somewhat crushing sense of limits.

Once, twice, thrice there was apparently an American literary centre: at Philadelphia, from the time Franklin went to live there until the death of Charles Brockden Brown, our first romancer; then at New York, during the period which may be roughly described as that of Irving, Poe, Willis, and Bryant; then at Boston, for the thirty or forty years illumined by the presence of Longfellow, Lowell, Whittier, Hawthorne, Emerson, Holmes, Prescott, Parkman, and many lesser lights. These are all still great publishing centres. If it were not that the house with the largest list of American authors was still at Boston, I should say New York was now the chief publishing centre; but in the sense that London and Paris, or even Madrid and Petersburg, are literary centres, with a controlling influence throughout England and France, Spain and Russia, neither New York nor Boston is now our literary centre, whatever they may once have been. Not to take Philadelphia too seriously, I may note that when New York seemed our literary centre Irving alone among those who gave it lustre was a New-Yorker, and he mainly lived abroad; Bryant, who was a New Englander, was alone constant to the city of his adoption; Willis, a Bostonian, and Poe, a Marylander, went and came as their poverty or their prosperity compelled or invited; neither dwelt here unbrokenly, and Poe did not even die here, though he often came near starving. One cannot then strictly speak of any early American literary centre except Boston, and Boston, strictly speaking, was the New England literary centre.