''Littery Man'': Mark Twain and Modern Authorship (Commonwealth Center Studies in American Culture)

As Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens straddled the conflicts between culture and commerce that characterized the era he named the Gilded Age. In "Littery Man", Richard Lowry examines how Twain used these conflicts in his major texts to fashion an "autobiography of authorship," a narrative of his own claims to literary authority at that moment when the American Writer emerged as a profession. Drawing on wide range of cultural genres--popular boys' fiction, childbearing manuals, travel narratives, autobiography, and criticism and fiction of the period--Lowry reconstructs how Twain participated in remaking the "literary" into a powerful social category of representation. He shows how, as one of our cultures first modern celebrities, Samuel Clemens transformed his life into the artful performance we have come to know as Mark Twain, and his texts into a searching critique of modern identity in a mass-mediated society. "Littery Man" will appeal to both Twain scholars and to scholars and students of nineteenth-century American literature and culture. A Self-styled American Vandal Who Pursued Literary Celebrity With A Mercenary Eye Even As Genteel America Proclaimed Him The American Rabelais, Samuel Clemens, As Mark Twain, Straddled The Conflicts Between Culture And Commerce That Characterized The Era He Named The Gilded Age. In Littery Man, Richard Lowry Examines How Twain Used These Conflicts In His Major Texts To Fashion An Autobiography Of Authorship, A Narrative Of His Own Claims To Literary Authority At That Moment When The American Writer Emerged As A Profession. Drawing On A Wide Range Of Cultural Genres - Popular Boys' Fiction, Childrearing Manuals, Travel Narratives, Autobiography, And Criticism And Fiction Of The Period - Lowry Reconstructs How Twain Participated In Remaking The Literary Into A Powerful Social Category Of Representation. He Shows How, As One Of Our Culture's First Modern Celebrities, Samuel Clemens Transformed His Life Into The Artful Performance We Have Come To Know As Mark Twain, And His Texts Into A Searching Critique Of Modern Identity In A Mass-mediated Society. Littery Man Will Appeal To Both Twain Scholars And To Scholars And Students Of Nineteenth-century American Literature And Culture. Introduction: Mark Twain's Autobiographies Of Authorship -- 1. Littery Man: The Rhetoric Of Authorship -- 2. Consuming Desire: The Innocents Abroad And Roughing It -- 3. A Rightly Constructed Boy's Life: The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer -- 4. By The Book: Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn -- Coda: Speaking From The Grave. Richard S. Lowry. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 151-172) And Index. Contents......Page 10 INTRODUCTION: Mark Twain's Autobiographies of Authorship......Page 14 I. "The Sole Form"......Page 27 II. Literary Reverence: The Whittier Birthday Banquet......Page 35 III. Local Differences......Page 48 I. Speculating in the Market......Page 55 II. Siteless Sights: The Innocents Abroad......Page 62 III. The Magic of Composition: Roughing It......Page 76 I. Nostalgia and Play......Page 87 II. Rightly Constructing Boys......Page 101 III. Fracturing: Injun Joe......Page 111 I. On the Verge of Authorship......Page 123 II. Autobiography and the Making of the Literate Author......Page 132 III. Fighting Words......Page 146 Coda: "Speaking from the Grave"......Page 159 Notes......Page 162 B......Page 184 H......Page 185 P......Page 186 T......Page 187 Z......Page 188 As Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens became one of America's first modern celebrities. This work examines Twain's writings to show how the writer strove to establish his authority over the course of his career and argues that Samuel Clemens' supreme fiction performance was Mark Twain