Writing against reform : aesthetic realism in the Progressive Era / Arielle Zibrak.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Zibrak, Arielle, author.

Series:

Becoming modern

Becoming modern: studies in the long nineteenth century

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Realism in literature.

American fiction--19th century--History and criticism.

American fiction.

American fiction--20th century--History and criticism.

Social problems in literature.

Literature and society--United States--History--19th century.

Literature and society.

Literature and society--United States--History--20th century.

United States.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

History.

Physical Description:

xiv, 256 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press, [2024]

Summary:

"Throughout the Progressive Era, reform literature became a central feature of the American literary landscape. Works like Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wall-Paper," and Jacob Riis's How the Other Half Lives topped bestseller lists and jolted middle-class readers into action. While realism and social reform have a long-established relationship, prominent writers of the period such as Henry James, Edith Wharton, James Weldon Johnson, Rebecca Harding Davis, and Kate Chopin resisted explicit political rhetoric in their own works and critiqued reform aesthetics, which too often rang hollow. Arielle Zibrak reveals that while these writers were often seen as indifferent to the political currents of their time, they actively engaged in reform work in their private lives. Examining the critique of reform aesthetics within the tradition of American realist literature of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Writing against Reform promises to change the way we think about the fiction of this period and many of America's leading writers"-- Provided by publisher.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Zibrak, Arielle. Writing against reform

ISBN:

9781625347718

1625347715

9781625347725

1625347723

OCLC:

1374090080