Why a National Literature Cannot Flourish in the United States of North America

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rocchietti, Joseph

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

To be supplied : Project Gutenberg, 2010.

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Why a National Literature Cannot Flourish in the United States of North America" by Joseph Rocchetti is a critical treatise exploring literature and cultural identity written in the mid-19th century. The book delves into the reasons behind the absence of a robust national literature in America, arguing that the American populace, composed largely of European descendants, possesses the same potential for artistic greatness as their antecedents. Rocchetti contends that the literary landscape is stifled not by the youth of the nation, but rather by prevailing attitudes and practices that undervalue traditional forms of literature and fail to encourage true artistic expression. At the start of the work, the author introduces his thesis by refuting the notion that America's lack of classical writers is due to its 'young' status as a nation. Instead, he asserts that the American identity is steeped in the cultural and literary heritage of Europe. Rocchetti emphasizes that a genuine national literature can only emerge when Americans are encouraged to appreciate and strive for higher standards of literary output, rather than indulging in light, superficial works. He critiques the current fashionable literature that trivializes serious themes through humor and sarcasm, indicating that a return to classical standards would cultivate profound artistic talent in the U.S. This opening sets the stage for a more expansive discourse on the interplay of culture, identity, and literature in America. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Credits:

Ralph Janke and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. (This book was produced from scanned images of public domain material from the Google Print project.)

Notes:

Reading ease score: 60.0 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read.

Release date is 2010-03-25