The Culture and Commerce of the American Short Story

by Andrew Levy

• ISBN13: 9780521060172
• ISBN10: 0521060176
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-11-20
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The Culture and Commerce of the Short Story is a cultural and historical account of the birth and development of the American short story from the time of Poe. It describes how America - through political movements, changes in education, magazine editorial policy and the work of certain individuals - built the short story as an image of itself and continues to use the genre as a locale within the realm of art where American political ideals can be rehearsed, debated and turned into literary forms. While the focus of this book is cultural, individual authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and Edith Wharton are examined as representative of the phenomenon. As part of its project, this book also contains a history of creative writing and the workshop dating back a century. Andrew Levy makes a strong case for the centrality of the short story as a form of art in American life and provides an explanation for the genre's resurgence and ongoing success.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations

Preface

Introduction

Poe's magazine

The land of definition

Edith Wharton: the muse's strategy

Handbooks and workshops: a brief history of the creative writing 'revolution'

Back home again: Bobbie Ann Mason's 'Shiloh'

Postscript: Iowa city

Notes

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.