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American literary regionalism

March 16, 2024

American literary regionalism, often used interchangeably with the term "local color", is a style or genre of writing in the United States that gained popularity in the mid-to-late 19th century and early 20th century. In this style of writing, which includes both poetry and prose, the setting is particularly important and writers often emphasize specific features, such as dialect, customs, history and landscape, of a particular region, often one that is "rural and/or provincial".[1] Regionalism is influenced by both 19th-century realism and Romanticism, adhering to a fidelity of description in the narrative but also infusing the tale with exotic or unfamiliar customs, objects, and people.

Literary critics argue that nineteenth-century literary regionalism helped preserve American regional identities while also contributing to domestic reunification efforts after the Civil War.[2] Richard Brodhead argues in Cultures of Letters, "Regionalism's representation of vernacular cultures as enclaves of tradition insulated from larger cultural contact is palpably a fiction ... its public function was not just to mourn lost cultures but to purvey a certain story of contemporary cultures and of the relations among them" (121).[3]

Amy Kaplan, in contrast, debates race relations, empire, and literary regionalism in the nineteenth century, noting that "regions painted with 'local color' are traversed by the forgotten history of racial conflict with prior regional inhabitants, and are ultimately produced and engulfed by the centralized capitalist economy that generates the desire for retreat" (256). Critic Eric Sundquist ultimately suggests the social inequity inherent in the aesthetic distinction between realist and regionalist authors, noting: "Economic or political power can itself be seen to be definitive of a realist aesthetic, in that those in power (say, white urban males) have been more often judged 'realists,' while those removed from the seats of power (say, Midwesterners, blacks, immigrants, or women) have been categorized as regionalists" (503).[4]

Characteristics edit

Any literary movement will have its diversity, but there are certain shared characteristics that help to define a literary movement. In the case of regionalism, these characteristics include the following:[5]

  • A focus on the setting of the story, often to such a degree that it appears little else happens beyond description of the setting and people;
  • Characters that are somewhat stereotypical, offering a picture of (actual or perceived) common traits from that region;
  • A great deal of nostalgia and resistance to change;
  • Use of local dialect, especially in the dialogue; and
  • Thick description of people, places, and things that the author means to highlight.

Regional writers edit

References edit

  1. ^ J.A Cuddon, A Dictionary of Literary Terms. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1984, p.560.
  2. ^ "The Anarchy of Empire in the Making of U.S. Culture — Amy Kaplan | Harvard University Press". www.hup.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  3. ^ Cultures of Letters.
  4. ^ Elliott, Emory (1991). The Columbia History of the American Novel. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231073608. Columbia Literary History of the novel.
  5. ^ "Regionalism and Local Color Fiction". public.wsu.edu. Retrieved 2023-08-19.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Campbell, Donna M. (2017-10-10). "Regionalism and Local Color Fiction, 1865-1895". Dept. of English, Washington State University. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Blight, David W. (2001). Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory. Cambridge, Massachusetts, and London, England. p. 444n21. ISBN 0-674-00819-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ Watts, Edward; Carlson, David J. (2012). "Introduction". In Watts, Edward; Carlson, David J. (eds.). John Neal and Nineteenth Century American Literature and Culture. Lewisburg, Pennsylvania: Bucknell University Press. p. xxi. ISBN 978-1-61148-420-5.

Bibliography edit

  • "New England in the Short Story." Atlantic Monthly 67 (1891): 845–850.
  • Wood, Ann D. "The Literature of Impoverishment: The Women Local Colorists in America, 1865–1914." Women's Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal 1 (1972): 3–46.
  • Donovan, Josephine (1983) New England Local Color Literature: A Women's Tradition. New York: Ungar.
  • Emory Elliott, ed. (1988). "Regionalism: A Diminished Thing". Columbia Literary History of the United States. Columbia University Press. pp. 761–784. ISBN 978-0-585-04152-0.
  • Charles Reagan Wilson and William Ferris, ed. (1989). "Regionalism and Local Color". Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. University of North Carolina Press.
  • Amy Kaplan (1991). "Nation, Region, and Empire". In Emory Elliott (ed.). Columbia History of the American Novel. Columbia University Press. pp. 240–266. ISBN 978-0-231-07360-8.
  • Richard H. Brodhead (1993). Cultures of Letters: Scenes of Reading and Writing in Nineteenth-Century America. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-07526-6.
  • Nickels, Cameron C. New England Humor: From the Revolutionary War to the Civil War. 1st ed. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1993.
  • Nancy Glazener (1997). Reading for Realism: The History of a U.S. Literary Institution, 1850-1910. Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-1870-9. (Discusses magazines such as Atlantic Monthly, The Century, Harper's Monthly, The Nation, Scribners)
  • Pryse, Marjorie. "Origins of American Literary Regionalism: Gender in Irving, Stowe, and Longstreet." In Breaking Boundaries: New Perspectives on Women's Regional Writing, edited by Sherrie A. Inness and Diana Royer, pp. 17–37. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1997
  • Stephanie Foote (2001). Regional Fictions: Culture and Identity in Nineteenth-Century American Literature. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-17113-1.
  • Witschi, N.S. (2002). Traces of Gold: California's Natural Resources and the Claim to Realism in Western American Literature. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 0-8173-1117-3.
  • Judith Fetterley; Marjorie Pryse (2003). Writing Out of Place: Regionalism, Women, and American Literary Culture. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-02767-3.
  • Judith Fetterley; Marjorie Pryse, eds. (1992). American Women Regionalists. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-31363-8.
  • Lutz, Tom. Cosmopolitan Vistas: American Regionalism and Literary Value. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2004. via Google Books
  • Donna M. Campbell (2006). "Regionalism and Local Color Fiction". In Tom Quirk; Gary Scharnhorst (eds.). American History Through Literature, 1870-1920. Vol. 3. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons. ISBN 9780684314938.
  • Philip Joseph (2007). American Literary Regionalism in a Global Age. Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8071-3188-6.

March 16, 2024
american, literary, regionalism, often, used, interchangeably, with, term, local, color, style, genre, writing, united, states, that, gained, popularity, late, 19th, century, early, 20th, century, this, style, writing, which, includes, both, poetry, prose, set. American literary regionalism often used interchangeably with the term local color is a style or genre of writing in the United States that gained popularity in the mid to late 19th century and early 20th century In this style of writing which includes both poetry and prose the setting is particularly important and writers often emphasize specific features such as dialect customs history and landscape of a particular region often one that is rural and or provincial 1 Regionalism is influenced by both 19th century realism and Romanticism adhering to a fidelity of description in the narrative but also infusing the tale with exotic or unfamiliar customs objects and people Literary critics argue that nineteenth century literary regionalism helped preserve American regional identities while also contributing to domestic reunification efforts after the Civil War 2 Richard Brodhead argues in Cultures of Letters Regionalism s representation of vernacular cultures as enclaves of tradition insulated from larger cultural contact is palpably a fiction its public function was not just to mourn lost cultures but to purvey a certain story of contemporary cultures and of the relations among them 121 3 Amy Kaplan in contrast debates race relations empire and literary regionalism in the nineteenth century noting that regions painted with local color are traversed by the forgotten history of racial conflict with prior regional inhabitants and are ultimately produced and engulfed by the centralized capitalist economy that generates the desire for retreat 256 Critic Eric Sundquist ultimately suggests the social inequity inherent in the aesthetic distinction between realist and regionalist authors noting Economic or political power can itself be seen to be definitive of a realist aesthetic in that those in power say white urban males have been more often judged realists while those removed from the seats of power say Midwesterners blacks immigrants or women have been categorized as regionalists 503 4 Contents 1 Characteristics 2 Regional writers 3 References 4 BibliographyCharacteristics editAny literary movement will have its diversity but there are certain shared characteristics that help to define a literary movement In the case of regionalism these characteristics include the following 5 A focus on the setting of the story often to such a degree that it appears little else happens beyond description of the setting and people Characters that are somewhat stereotypical offering a picture of actual or perceived common traits from that region A great deal of nostalgia and resistance to change Use of local dialect especially in the dialogue and Thick description of people places and things that the author means to highlight Regional writers editJames Lane Allen 6 Sherwood Anderson Mary Austin 6 Wendell Berry Alice Brown 6 George Washington Cable 7 6 Erskine Caldwell Alice Cary 6 Willa Cather Charles W Chesnutt 6 Kate Chopin 6 Irvin S Cobb August Derleth Alice Dunbar Nelson 6 Edward Eggleston 7 6 Sui Sin Far William Faulkner Mary E Wilkins Freeman 6 Richard Ford Zona Gale 6 Hamlin Garland 6 Ellen Glasgow Davis Grubb Joel Chandler Harris 7 6 Bret Harte 7 6 Pauline Hopkins Sarah Orne Jewett 6 Garrison Keillor Grace King 6 Harper Lee Carson McCullers John Trotwood Moore Willie Morris Mary Noailles Murfree 6 John Neal 8 Flannery O Connor Thomas Nelson Page 7 6 Suzan Lori Parks Charles Portis Ron Rash Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings James Whitcomb Riley 7 6 Harriet Beecher Stowe 6 Gene Stratton Porter Jesse Stuart Celia Thaxter 6 Maurice Thompson John Kennedy Toole Mark Twain 7 6 Robert Penn Warren Sam R Watkins Manly Wade Wellman Eudora Welty Thomas Wolfe Constance Fenimore Woolson 7 6 Martha Strudwick Young Zitkala Sa 6 References edit J A Cuddon A Dictionary of Literary Terms Harmondsworth Penguin 1984 p 560 The Anarchy of Empire in the Making of U S Culture Amy Kaplan Harvard University Press www hup harvard edu Retrieved 2017 04 18 Cultures of Letters Elliott Emory 1991 The Columbia History of the American Novel Columbia University Press ISBN 9780231073608 Columbia Literary History of the novel Regionalism and Local Color Fiction public wsu edu Retrieved 2023 08 19 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Campbell Donna M 2017 10 10 Regionalism and Local Color Fiction 1865 1895 Dept of English Washington State University Retrieved 2021 01 19 a b c d e f g h Blight David W 2001 Race and Reunion The Civil War in American Memory Cambridge Massachusetts and London England p 444n21 ISBN 0 674 00819 7 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Watts Edward Carlson David J 2012 Introduction In Watts Edward Carlson David J eds John Neal and Nineteenth Century American Literature and Culture Lewisburg Pennsylvania Bucknell University Press p xxi ISBN 978 1 61148 420 5 Bibliography edit New England in the Short Story Atlantic Monthly 67 1891 845 850 Wood Ann D The Literature of Impoverishment The Women Local Colorists in America 1865 1914 Women s Studies An Interdisciplinary Journal 1 1972 3 46 Donovan Josephine 1983 New England Local Color Literature A Women s Tradition New York Ungar Emory Elliott ed 1988 Regionalism A Diminished Thing Columbia Literary History of the United States Columbia University Press pp 761 784 ISBN 978 0 585 04152 0 Charles Reagan Wilson and William Ferris ed 1989 Regionalism and Local Color Encyclopedia of Southern Culture University of North Carolina Press Amy Kaplan 1991 Nation Region and Empire In Emory Elliott ed Columbia History of the American Novel Columbia University Press pp 240 266 ISBN 978 0 231 07360 8 Richard H Brodhead 1993 Cultures of Letters Scenes of Reading and Writing in Nineteenth Century America University of Chicago Press ISBN 978 0 226 07526 6 Nickels Cameron C New England Humor From the Revolutionary War to the Civil War 1st ed Knoxville University of Tennessee Press 1993 Nancy Glazener 1997 Reading for Realism The History of a U S Literary Institution 1850 1910 Duke University Press ISBN 0 8223 1870 9 Discusses magazines such as Atlantic Monthly The Century Harper s Monthly The Nation Scribners Pryse Marjorie Origins of American Literary Regionalism Gender in Irving Stowe and Longstreet In Breaking Boundaries New Perspectives on Women s Regional Writing edited by Sherrie A Inness and Diana Royer pp 17 37 Iowa City University of Iowa Press 1997 Stephanie Foote 2001 Regional Fictions Culture and Identity in Nineteenth Century American Literature University of Wisconsin Press ISBN 978 0 299 17113 1 Witschi N S 2002 Traces of Gold California s Natural Resources and the Claim to Realism in Western American Literature Tuscaloosa University of Alabama Press ISBN 0 8173 1117 3 Judith Fetterley Marjorie Pryse 2003 Writing Out of Place Regionalism Women and American Literary Culture University of Illinois Press ISBN 978 0 252 02767 3 Judith Fetterley Marjorie Pryse eds 1992 American Women Regionalists W W Norton amp Company ISBN 0 393 31363 8 Lutz Tom Cosmopolitan Vistas American Regionalism and Literary Value Ithaca N Y Cornell University Press 2004 via Google Books Donna M Campbell 2006 Regionalism and Local Color Fiction In Tom Quirk Gary Scharnhorst eds American History Through Literature 1870 1920 Vol 3 Detroit Charles Scribner s Sons ISBN 9780684314938 Philip Joseph 2007 American Literary Regionalism in a Global Age Louisiana State University Press ISBN 978 0 8071 3188 6 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title American literary regionalism amp oldid 1182016436, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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