Reviewing the South : the literary marketplace and the Southern Renaissance, 1920-1941 / Sarah E. Gardner, Mercer University, Macon, Georgia.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gardner, Sarah E., author.

Series:

Cambridge studies on the American South.

Cambridge studies on the American South

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American literature--Southern States--History and criticism.

American literature.

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

Book reviewing--United States--History--20th century.

Book reviewing.

American literature--Publishing--History--20th century.

Book industries and trade--United States--History--20th century.

Book industries and trade.

Critics--Northeastern States--History--20th century.

Critics.

Southern States--Relations--Northeastern States.

Southern States.

Northeastern States--Relations--Southern States.

Northeastern States.

Southern States--Intellectual life--20th century.

Northeastern States--Intellectual life--20th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 316 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2017.

Summary:

The American South received increased attention from national commentators during the interwar era. Beginning in the 1920s, the proliferation of daily book columns and Sunday book supplements in newspapers reflected a growing audience of educated readers and its demand for books and book reviews. This period of intensified scrutiny coincided with a boom in the publishing industry, which, in turn, encouraged newspapers to pay greater attention to the world of books. Reviewing the South shows how northern critics were as much involved in the Southern Literary Renaissance as Southern authors and critics. Southern writing, Gardner argues, served as a litmus to gauge Southern exceptionalism. For critics and their readers, nothing less than the region's ability to contribute to the vibrancy and growth of the nation was at stake.

Contents:

Introduction: From Renaissance to Reformation

The world the reviewers made

The cultural economy of reading in the interwar years

The South meets Harlem

Confronting Jim Crow

Away down South in the land of problems

A class of burden bearers

The most audacious book ever written by Southerners

Fiction fights the Civil War

Epilogue.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 11 Aug 2017).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-108-50072-2

1-108-50132-X

1-108-50144-3

1-108-50156-7

1-108-50216-4

1-316-55660-3

1-108-50168-0