Items related to Figures Of Speech
Synopsis
Chronicles the emergence of a literary marketplace in which writers could hope to place their work
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Reviews
How five representative American authors responded to the demands of the literary marketplace is the theme of this surprisingly timely study. Emily Dickinson scorned the commercial aspects of writing, yet, in Wilson's controversial view, she was ultimately a crea ture of the marketplace, defining herself against its criteria, striking poses that were at bottom conventional. Ben Franklin, publicist and self-promoter, disguised his attacks on patronage and power in gentle humor, parable and anecdote. Wilson, a Smith professor of history, draws sharp profiles of Emerson, who idealized the "poet-scholar" into a harmless custodian of high principles, and of crusader William Lloyd Garrison who filled his abolitionist newspaper with a projection of himself as lone, defiant individual against a corrupt world. Wilson shows perceptively how Washington Irving's best tales mirrored his traumatic attempt to achieve vocational autonomy. These five careers speak volumes about the marketplace todayits sham promise of a limitless audience versus the ineffectual status to which most writers are reduced.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
With wit, grace, and intelligence, Wilson presents successive portraits of Franklin, Irving, Garrison, Emerson, and Dickinson as representative writers, responding to the new literary marketplace by deliberately or unwittingly embracing a new definition of the space between the private soul and the public personality. Wilson argues that the modern author becomes in a literal sense "a figure of speech"--a projected persona that is both a buffer of self-defense and a producer of commodities to an anonymous market. Wilson's line of argument is lively and subtle, his readings of the lives and works of these writers fresh and provocative, and his sense of the radically changing economic literary situation between 1750 and 1850 paramount. Highly recommended.
- Earl Rovit, City Coll., CUNY
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Figures of Speech : American Writers and the Literary Marketplace from Benjamin Franklin to Emily Dickinson
Published by
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1989
ISBN 10: 0394496965
ISBN 13: 9780394496962
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First Edition
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
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Condition: Good. 1st. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Seller Inventory # 9600503-6
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Figures Of Speech
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Hardcover. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Former library book; Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0394496965I5N10
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Figures Of Speech
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0394496965I4N00
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Figures Of Speech
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Hardcover. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0394496965I5N00
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Figures Of Speech
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Figures of Speech American writers and the literary marketplace, from Benjamin Franklin to Emily Dickinson.
Published by
Knopf, New York, 1989
ISBN 10: 0394496965
ISBN 13: 9780394496962
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Willis Monie-Books, ABAA, Cooperstown, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Poor. First Edition. The DJ has edge wear, tears and creasing. Seller Inventory # 4405
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Figures Of Speech
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Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. Torn/worn dj. Good hardcover with some shelfwear; may have previous owner's name inside. Standard-sized. Seller Inventory # mon0000250054
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Figures of Speech: American Writers and the Literary Marketplace, from Benjamin Franklin to Emily Dickinson
Published by
Alfred a Knopf Inc, New York, 1989
ISBN 10: 0394496965
ISBN 13: 9780394496962
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: First Choice Books, Coeurd'Alene, ID, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Cloth Hardback. Condition: As New. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. 295pp including index Examines "uneasy relationship between creative writers and the literary marketplace" Dust jacket has chips and tears on edges. Seller Inventory # 60377
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Figures of Speech American Writers and the Literary Marketplace
Seller: Yesterday's Books, Richmond, IN, U.S.A.
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Cloth and Paper Covered Boards. Condition: VG. Dust Jacket Condition: G+. 295 pp, b/w illustrations, the book and contents arew clean and solid, the dust jacket has some light exremity wear, a very usable book. Seller Inventory # 006831
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Figures of Speech
Published by
Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1989
ISBN 10: 0394496965
ISBN 13: 9780394496962
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First Edition. First edition. Near fine in near fine dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 116127