The Routledge Companion to American Literary Journalism (Routledge Media and Cultural Studies Companions)

"Taking a thematic approach, this new companion provides an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and international study of American literary journalism. From the work of Frederick Douglass and Walt Whitman to that of Joan Didion and Dorothy Parker, literary journalism is a genre that both reveals and shapes American history and identity. This volume not only calls attention to literary journalism as a distinctive genre but also provides a critical foundation for future scholarship. It brings together cutting-edge research from literary journalism scholars, examining historical perspectives; themes, venues, and genres across time; theoretical approaches and disciplinary intersections; and new directions for scholarly inquiry. Provoking reconsideration and inquiry, while providing new historical interpretations, this companion recognizes, interacts with, and honors the tradition and legacies of American literary journalism scholarship. Engaging the work of disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, African American studies, gender studies, visual studies, media studies, and American studies, in addition to journalism and literary studies, this book is perfect for students and scholars of those disciplines"-- Provided by publisher Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Contributors Foreword by Robert S. Boynton Acknowledgments Introduction The Literary-Journalistic Turn Part I: Historical Perspectives Part II: Themes, Venues, and Genres across Time Part III: Theorizing American Literary Journalism: Disciplinary Intersections Part IV: New Directions for Scholarly Inquiry Conclusion Notes Bibliography PART I: Historical Perspectives 1. From the Boston News-Letter to the “Couranteers”: Epistolarity, Reportage, and Entertaining Literature in Colonial American Newspapers John Campbell’s Boston News-Letter: Manuscript “News” and the First Printed American Newspaper Epistolarity and Entertaining Literature in the Colonial American Newspaper: The Case of the New-England Courant Notes Bibliography 2. The Antebellum Origins of American Literary Journalism: Five Pioneers Notes Bibliography 3. Literary Journalism in Transition: The Early Memoirs of William Grimes, Mattie Jackson, and Nicholas Said Notes Bibliography 4. American Realism and the Stirrings of Literary Journalism Notes Bibliography 5. Literary Journalism and America’s Naturalistic Writers Theodore Dreiser (1871–1945) Stephen Crane (1871–1900) Frank Norris (1870–1902) Willa Cather (1873–1947) Jack London (1876–1916) Conclusion Notes Bibliography 6. Journalistic Literature: Female Reporters and Newspaper Fiction, 1880–1930 Notes Bibliography 7. Two Gilded Ages: Literary Muckrakers 1900s/2000s Notes Bibliography 8. “Feel the Fact”: The 1930s Reportage of Joseph North, John L. Spivak, and Meridel Le Sueur Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography 9. Performative Criticism and the Problem of Modernist Chic: Gertrude Stein, Janet Flanner, and Dorothy Parker Introduction: Popular Criticism for Cultural Aspirants Gertrude Stein’s Democratization of Modernism Janet Flanner’s Performance of Objectivity Dorothy Parker’s Subversion of Literary Fashion Conclusion: The Strengths and Limits of Performative Criticism Notes Bibliography 10. The New Journalism, 1960–80 Notes Bibliography 11. Eternal Present Tense: The New Journalism Moved beyond Basic Needs to Tell Deeper Narratives about Chicago ’68 Newspaper Coverage News Magazine Coverage A Northern Voice The Culture Bunker I: New York Review of Books The Culture Bunker II: New Statesman The Culture Bunker III: New Yorker The Culture Bunker IV: Esquire Another Northern View Fiction Writer as Counterculture Commentator Novelist as Journalist; Journalist as Novelist Coda: Gonzo and the Missed Opportunity Conclusion Notes Bibliography 12. Literary Journalism and Alternative Media Understanding “Alternative Media” Literary Journalism: A Rare Approach Literary Journalism: Finding a Home Potential Advantages of Literary Approaches Conclusion Notes Bibliography 13. From Magazines to Newsprint: How Literary Journalism Went “Mainstream” Notes Bibliography 14. Literary Journalism at the Center: A Process of Maturation Award-Winning Journalism Notes Bibliography 15. Coming of Age as a Writer in the Sixties: Realizations about Voice Notes Bibliography PART II: Themes, Venues, and Genres across Time 16. Of Troops and Tropes: US Literary War Journalism from the Civil War to the War on Terror US Literary Journalism from the Civil War to the Spanish–American War: A Press Divided US Literary Journalism from World War I to the Spanish Civil War: Their Wars, Our Words US Literary Journalism and the (Post-)World War II Experience: The Rise of New (War) Journalism US Literary Journalism and the New New Journalism: Alas, Not a Final Salute Conclusion Notes Bibliography 17. Literary Journalism and Social Activism Notes Bibliography 18. Literary Journalism and American Magazines Historical Complexities in the Development of Literary Journalism in Magazines: Defining the Terrain Magazines and the Narrative, Storytelling Forms of Nonfiction Magazines and the Discursive Forms of Literary Journalism Magazines and Literary Journalism by Celebrated Literary Figures The Historical Appearance of Literary Journalism within Magazines and Periodicals A Survey of the Magazine as aForum for Literary Journalism in the US Notes Bibliography 19. Literary Journalism’s Historical Lineage: In Defense of Mencken From the Penny Press to a Clash of Paradigms An Alternate Lineage? The Commercial Strategies of Evening Newspapers A “Home Paper” Apprenticeship In Defense of Mencken Notes Bibliography 20. A Short, Comprehensive History of Literary Sports Journalism Introduction The Golden Era The Columnists New Journalism The Bonus Piece Gary Smith Personal Narratives The Future An Ever-Evolving Art Notes Bibliography PART III: Theorizing American Literary Journalism: Disciplinary Intersections 21. American Literary Journalism and Book History: Crossing the Divide American Literary Journalism Studies History of the Book and Print Culture in America Crossing the Border: Book History in Literary Journalism Studies Theorizing the Power of Journalism in Public Life Conclusion Notes Bibliography 22. Exploring the Referentiality of Narrative Literary Journalism Notes Bibliography 23. Immersion Journalism and the Second-Order Narrative Notes Bibliography 24. Conceptualizing an Ecological Approach to Ethical Literary Journalism Epistemology and Ethics The Ethics of Advocacy Limitations Conclusion Notes Bibliography 25. The Ethnographic Impulse Notes Bibliography 26. From Major to Minor: Literary Journalism and the First Person The Evolution of the “I” in Literary Journalism and the Paradox of Objectivity The Self-Conscious First Person in the Twentieth Century The Quest: The Self as Material Forging Ahead with the First Person: Enduring Dilemmas Notes Bibliography PART IV: New Directions for Scholarly Inquiry 27. The “Black Difference” in African American Literary Journalism Henry Louis Gates Jr. and the “Black Difference” in African American Writing The Civil Rights Era Ted Poston and “You” Charlayne Hunter-Gault’s Signifyin(g) Conclusion Notes Bibliography 28. Metabolizing Genres: American Poetry and Literary Journalism Charles Reznikoff Muriel Rukeyser Mark Nowak C.D.Wright Claudia Rankine Conclusion Notes Bibliography 29. The Revivifying Flames of Rock and Roll Journalism Preface: Awopbopaloobop! Sex, Danger, and Secret Magic Rock and Roll Journalism vs. Criticism, and the Problem with Canons Culture as Ecstatic Disruption: The Writing that Made the Music Make Sense Dancing about Architecture: Writing about Music Rock-Writer Gonzo Conclusion: Disturbing the Peace Notes Bibliography 30. Literary Journalism and the Pedagogy of Liberal Education A Brief Look at Enrollments LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes Method Results A Couple of Journalism Program Exemplars Limitations and Closing Thoughts Notes Bibliography 31. From Magic Lantern Slides to Virtual Reality: Tracing the Visual in and around American Literary Journalism Jacob Riis’s Mission for the Photograph of Fact in the Late 1800s Walker Evans’s Publishing Failure of the 1930s W. Eugene Smith’s Defiance of the Life Establishment in the 1940s and 1950s Diane Arbus’s Visual Voice of the 1960s The NewYork Times’s Shift to Immersive Journalism and Virtual Reality in the 2010s Notes Bibliography 32. Literary Journalism and Ecocriticism Introduction Ecocriticism and Literary Journalism: Slow Violence ... Slow Journalism Hyperobjects, Nonhuman Animals, Umwelten, and Trans-corporeality: Toward a Non-anthropocentric Journalism Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography 33. The Disclosure of Difference: Literary Journalism and the Postmodern Literary Journalism and the Postmodern David Foster Wallace’s Call to Communication Difference, Connection, and Possibility in Contemporary Texts Conclusion: Generative Differences Notes Bibliography 34. Beyond Comparison: American Literary Journalism in a Global Context An American Trademark A Global Brand of Storytelling Transnational Perspectives Collations and Constellations Of Roots and Routes Notes Bibliography 35. Literary Journalism in the Digital Age Literary Journalism’s Digital Design Renewing the New Journalism Revolution Online Longform after “Snow Fall” New Production Models Notes Bibliography Index "Taking a thematic approach, this new companion provides an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural, and international study of American literary journalism. From the work of Frederick Douglass and Walt Whitman to that of Joan Didion and Dorothy Parker, literary journalism is a genre that both reveals and shapes American history and identity. This volume not only calls attention to literary journalism as a distinctive genre but also provides a critical foundation for future scholarship. It brings together cutting-edge research from literary journalism scholars, examining historical perspectives; themes, venues, and genres across time; theoretical approaches and disciplinary intersections; and new directions for scholarly inquiry. Provoking reconsideration and inquiry, while providing new historical interpretations, this companion recognizes, interacts with, and honors the tradition and legacies of American literary journalism scholarship. Engaging the work of disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, African American studies, gender studies, visual studies, media studies, and American studies, in addition to journalism and literary studies, this book is perfect for students and scholars of those disciplines"--Back cover