Beyond Spoon River

The Legacy of Edgar Lee Masters

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, American
Cover of the book Beyond Spoon River by Ronald Primeau, University of Texas Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Ronald Primeau ISBN: 9781477301777
Publisher: University of Texas Press Publication: August 27, 2014
Imprint: University of Texas Press Language: English
Author: Ronald Primeau
ISBN: 9781477301777
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Publication: August 27, 2014
Imprint: University of Texas Press
Language: English
As the first full-length critical study of Edgar Lee Masters, Beyond Spoon River is important not only for its reevaluation of this American poet and his work but also for its valuable insights into central questions of aesthetics, regionalism, and the nature and meaning of literary influence. The inordinate popularity of Spoon River Anthology has for many years unfairly restricted Masters' reputation as a "one-book phenomenon," although between 1911 and 1942 he wrote over fifty other books—most of which were neglected or misinterpreted precisely because they attempted a large-scale rewriting of what he felt had been obscured or distorted in the Anglo-American tradition. Masters' wide reading in the whole of western literature shaped his own attitudes, themes, and style, and his detailed accounts of that reading and its effect on his work form the basis for this reinterpretation of his place in American poetry in this century. After reviewing Masters' own statements on literary influence and his role as a critic, Primeau devotes the main body of his study to the major influences on Masters' work—the Greeks, Goethe, Emerson, Whitman, Shelley, and Browning. For Masters, the composite of all these influences provided a corrective to the poetry and criticism of his time, which he little admired. Primeau concludes by exploring Masters' midwestern heritage in the light of recent reinterpretations of regionalism.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
As the first full-length critical study of Edgar Lee Masters, Beyond Spoon River is important not only for its reevaluation of this American poet and his work but also for its valuable insights into central questions of aesthetics, regionalism, and the nature and meaning of literary influence. The inordinate popularity of Spoon River Anthology has for many years unfairly restricted Masters' reputation as a "one-book phenomenon," although between 1911 and 1942 he wrote over fifty other books—most of which were neglected or misinterpreted precisely because they attempted a large-scale rewriting of what he felt had been obscured or distorted in the Anglo-American tradition. Masters' wide reading in the whole of western literature shaped his own attitudes, themes, and style, and his detailed accounts of that reading and its effect on his work form the basis for this reinterpretation of his place in American poetry in this century. After reviewing Masters' own statements on literary influence and his role as a critic, Primeau devotes the main body of his study to the major influences on Masters' work—the Greeks, Goethe, Emerson, Whitman, Shelley, and Browning. For Masters, the composite of all these influences provided a corrective to the poetry and criticism of his time, which he little admired. Primeau concludes by exploring Masters' midwestern heritage in the light of recent reinterpretations of regionalism.

More books from University of Texas Press

Cover of the book Travelers In Texas, 1761-1860 by Ronald Primeau
Cover of the book Out the Summerhill Road by Ronald Primeau
Cover of the book Three Friends by Ronald Primeau
Cover of the book Profile of Man and Culture in Mexico by Ronald Primeau
Cover of the book The Chora of Metaponto 2 by Ronald Primeau
Cover of the book Harnessing the Technicolor Rainbow by Ronald Primeau
Cover of the book The Francklyn Land & Cattle Company by Ronald Primeau
Cover of the book My Car in Managua by Ronald Primeau
Cover of the book Sam Houston, the Great Designer by Ronald Primeau
Cover of the book Haunted Greece and Rome by Ronald Primeau
Cover of the book Chicano Rap by Ronald Primeau
Cover of the book Dangerous Gifts by Ronald Primeau
Cover of the book Texas Snakes by Ronald Primeau
Cover of the book Fields of the Tzotzil by Ronald Primeau
Cover of the book Conversations with Texas Writers by Ronald Primeau
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy