A cultural and historical account of the birth and development of the American short story from the time of Poe. This text shows how America built the short story as an image of itself, and uses the genre as a place where American political ideals can be debated, and turned into literary forms.

Klappentext

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 recent resurgence and ongoing success.

Inhalt
List of illustrations; Preface; Introduction; 1. Poe's magazine; 2. The land of definition; 3. Edith Wharton: the muse's strategy; 4. Handbooks and workshops: a brief history of the creative writing 'revolution'; 5. Back home again: Bobbie Ann Mason's 'Shiloh'; Postscript: Iowa city; Notes; Index.