In modern culture, the essay is often considered an
old-fashioned, unoriginal form of literary styling. The word
"essay" brings to mind the uninspired five-paragraph theme taught
in schools around the country or the antiquated, Edwardian
meanderings of English gentlemen rattling on about art and old
books. These connotations exist despite the fact that Americans
have been reading and enjoying personal essays in popular magazines
for decades, engaging with a multitude of ideas through this
short-form means of expression.
To defend the essay--that misunderstood staple of first-year
composition courses--Ned Stuckey-French has written "The American
Essay in the American Century." This book uncovers the buried
history of the American personal essay and reveals how it played a
significant role in twentieth-century cultural history.
In the early 1900s, writers and critics debated the "death of
the essay," claiming it was too traditional to survive the era's
growing commercialism, labeling it a bastion of British upper-class
conventions. Yet in that period, the essay blossomed into a
cultural force as a new group of writers composed essays that
responded to the concerns of America's expanding cosmopolitan
readership. These essays would spark the "magazine revolution,"
giving a fresh voice to the ascendant middle class of the young
century.
With extensive research and a cultural context, Stuckey-French
describes the many reasons essays grew in appeal and importance for
Americans. He also explores the rise of E. B. White, considered by
many the greatest American essayist of the first half of the
twentieth century whose prowess was overshadowed by his success in
other fields of writing. White's work introduced a new voice,
creating an American essay that melded seriousness and political
resolve with humor and self-deprecation. This book is one of the
first to consider and reflect on the contributions of E. B. White
to the personal essay tradition and American culture more
generally.
"The American Essay in the American Century "is a compelling,
highly readable book that illuminates the history of a secretly
beloved literary genre. A work that will appeal to fiction readers,
scholars, and students alike, this book offers fundamental insight
into modern American literary history and the intersections of
literature, culture, and class through the personal essay. This
thoroughly researched volume dismisses, once and for all, the
"death of the essay," proving that the essay will remain relevant
for a very long time to come.
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