The Rise and Fall of Early American Magazine Culture (The History of Media and Communication)

A transatlantic literary form that refused to break with British cultural models and genealogy, the early American magazine had at its center the anonymous authority of the editor and a porous distinction between reader and author. Esteemed subscribers were treated as magnets to attract other subscribers, and subscribers were prompted to become contributors, giving these early American publications the appearance of public forums. This book reexamines these publications and their reach to show how magazine culture was a multivocal, as opposed to novel, culture. The book describes how those who invested considerable energies in this form—including some of the period's most important political and literary figures such as Charles Brockden Brown and Washington Irving—sought to establish a very different model of literary culture than what came to define American literary history and its scholarship. The book cautions against privileging novels or authors as the essential touchstones of American literary history and instead encourages an understanding of how the “editorial function” favored by magazine culture shaped reading and writing practices. Countering assumptions about early American print culture and challenging our scholarly fixation on the novel, the book reimagines the early American magazine as a rich literary culture that operated as a model for nation-building by celebrating editorship over authorship and serving as a virtual salon in which citizens were invited to share their different perspectives. Between The Newly Canonized Novels Of The 1790s And The Long-familiar Novels Of The 1820s, Early American Literary Magazines Figured Themselves As Museums, Bringing Together A Multitude Of Notable Content And Enabling Readers To Choose What To Consume. A Transatlantic Literary Form That Refused To Break With British Cultural Models And Genealogy, The Early American Magazine Had At Its Center The Anonymous Authority Of The Editor And A Porous Distinction Between Reader And Author. Esteemed Subscribers Were Treated As Magnets To Attract Other Subscribers, And Subscribers Were Prompted To Become Contributors, Giving These Early American Publications The Appearance Of Public Forums. The Rise And Fall Of Early American Magazine Culture Reexamines These Publications And Their Reach To Show How Magazine Culture Was Multi-vocal, As Opposed To Novel Culture, Which Imposed A One-sided Authorial Voice And Restricted The Agency Of The Reader.^ In This First Book-length Study Of The History Of American Magazine Culture In The Colonial And Early National Period, Jared Gardner Describes How Those Who Invested Considerable Energies In This Form--including Some Of The Period's Most Important Political And Literary Figures Such As Charles Brockden Brown And Washington Irving--sought To Establish A Very Different Model Of Literary Culture Than What Came To Define American Literary History And Its Scholarship. He Cautions Against Privileging Novels Or Authors As The Essential Touchstones Of American Literary History And Instead Encourages An Understanding Of How The Editorial Function Favored By Magazine Culture Shaped Reading And Writing Practices.^ Countering Assumptions About Early American Print Culture And Challenging Our Scholarly Fixation On The Novel, Gardner Reimagines The Early American Magazine As A Rich Literary Culture That Operated As A Model For Nation-building By Celebrating Editorship Over Authorship And Serving As A Virtual Salon In Which Citizens Were Invited To Share Their Different Perspectives. This Important Work Revisits Largely Lost Interventions In The Forms And Politics Of Literature And Sounds A Vibrant Call To Radically Revise Early American Literary History.--jacket. Introduction: The Literary Museum And The Unsettling Of The Early American Novel -- American Spectators, Tatlers, And Guardians: Transatlantic Periodical Culture In The Eighteenth Century -- The American Magazine In The Early National Period: Publishers, Printers, And Editors -- The American Magazine In The Early National Period: Readers, Correspondents, And Contributors -- The Early American Magazine In The Nineteenth Century: Brown, Rowson, And Irving -- Conclusion: What Happened Next. Jared Gardner. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Countering assumptions about early American print culture and challenging our scholarly fixation on the novel, Jared Gardner reimagines the early American magazine as a rich literary culture that operated as a model for nation-building by celebrating editorship over authorship and serving as a virtual salon in which citizens were invited to share their different perspectives. The Rise and Fall of Early American Magazine Culture reexamines early magazines and their reach to show how magazine culture was multivocal and presented a porous distinction between author and reader, as opposed to novel culture, which imposed a one-sided authorial voice and restricted the agency of the reader. | Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Preface Introduction: The Literary Museum and the Unsettling of the Early American Novel 1. American Spectators, Tatlers, and Guardians: Transatlantic Periodical Culture in the Eighteenth C 2. The American Magazine in the Early National Period: Publishers, Printers and Editors 3. The American Magazine in the Early National Period: Readers, Correspondents, and Contributors 4. The Early American Magazine in the Nineteenth Century: Brown, Rowson, and Irving Conclusion: What Happened Next Notes Index Back Cover | A Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2013 EBSCO host-Research Society for American Periodicals (RSAP) Book Prize, 2013 Notable Title, Annual Book Award, Society for US Intellectual History, 2013 — Choice A Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2013 EBSCOhost-Research Society for American Periodicals (RSAP) Book Prize, 2013 Notable Title, Annual Book Award, Society for US Intellectual History, 2013 — EBSCO host-Research Society for American Periodicals (RSAP) A Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2013 EBSCOhost-Research Society for American Periodicals (RSAP) Book Prize, 2013 Notable Title, Annual Book Award, Society for US Intellectual History, 2013 — Society for US Intellectual History | Jared Gardner is an associate professor of English and film studies at Ohio State University and the author of Master Plots: Race and the Founding of an American Literature, 1787–1845.