"Canonized in history" : literary tourism and 19th-Century writers' houses in New England / Klara Stephanie Szlezák.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Szlezák, Klara Stephanie, author.

Series:

American studies (Munich, Germany) ; Volume 250.

American Studies - A Monograph Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American literature--New England--History and criticism--19th century.

American literature.

New England--Intellectual life.

New England.

Authors, American--Homes and haunts.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (361 p.)

Place of Publication:

Heidelberg, Germany : Universitätsverlag Winter, 2015.

Summary:

With the help of three case studies - the homes of Longfellow, Dickinson, and Melville -, this book explores the multiple cultural implications of literary tourism, as a cultural practice emerging from an interest in writers and literature, in the context of New England. Many 19th-century New England writers, particularly those both canonized and challenged as the writers of the American Renaissance, became the object of tourist interest at various points in time and under diverse circumstances, and their former houses have manifold meanings within today's American tourism landscape. As sites of memory, museum spaces, and tourist sites, they stand as markers of both a regional and a national literary culture, signify the perennial appeal of the private family home, and engage visitors in unique and yet familiar sights and scripted performances. As both material manifestations of canonical literature and forms of leisure, they evidence the untenability of the divide between "high" and popular culture.

Contents:

Cover ; Title Page ; Copyright ; Table of Contents; Acknowledgements ; Prelude ; 1 Introduction: New England Writers' Houses-Cradles of American Literature; 2 Literary Tourism and 19th-Century Writers' Houses in New England: Contexts, Perspectives, Implications; 2.1 Literary Tourism: Definitions, Variants, and Development ; 2.2 Literary Tourism in the Academy

2.3 Methodological and Conceptual Parameters 2.3.1 19th-Century Writers' Houses in New England as Tourist Sites; 2.3.2 The Sights of 19th-Century Writers' Houses in New England ; 2.3.3 Literary Tourism at 19th-Century New England Writers' Houses as Performance; 2.3.4 Commodification at 19th-Century Writers' Houses in New England; 3 "Yes, within this very room": Merging the Discourses of Region and Nation at Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

3.1 The House at 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge: A Brief Historical Overview, 1759-19503.2 The Onset of Literary Tourism at 105 Brattle Street ; 3.3 Appropriating the House, Appropriating the Legacy ; 3.4 Naming the House, Branding the Place ; 3.5 Alignment of Political, Cultural, and Literary History

3.6 Transcending and Asserting the Region Illustrations Chapter 2 ; Illustrations Chapter 3 ; 4 "Home is a holy thing-": Making the Private Public at the Emily Dickinson Museum; 4.1 The House at 280 Main Street, Amherst: A Brief Historical Overview, 1813-1965; 4.2 Two Houses, One Museum ; 4.3 "Quintessentially Private"?-The Elusiveness of Emily Dickinson; 4.4 Claiming Emily

4.5 Reconstructing Privacy, Inviting the Public 4.6 The Writer's Sanctum ; 5 "My room seems a ship's cabin": Popularizing the Non-Popular at Herman Melville's Arrowhead; 5.1 The House at 780 Holmes Road, Pittsfield: A Brief Historical Overview, 1780s-1975; 5.2 Melville's House and Berkshire County History ; 5.3 Climbed Canons and Unread Books

5.4 Neglecting and Retrieving the Writer

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed April 14, 2016).

ISBN:

9783825375584

3825375587