/lit/ - Literature

>tfw Louise Bentley is literally you

Reposting.

The /lit/ Discord is holding a reading group for Winesburg, Ohio, by Sherwood Anderson, often regarded as one of the foundational texts of American literature. Anderson was credited with being an instrumental mentor to, among others, the likes of Hemingway and Faulkner, Steinbeck, Miller, Wolfe, etc. Wolfe stated Anderson was "the only man in America who ever taught me anything" and Faulkner claims it was Anderson who instilled in him the belief that "being a writer must be a wonderful life," motivating him to write professionally. Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles was modeled directly after Winesburg, Ohio.

The book itself is a collection of short stories that share a setting and a common character, protagonist George Willard, and chronicles his interactions with the inhabitants of the titular small town. The "Grotesques," as the narrator terms the inhabitants of Winesburg, lead lonely and isolated lives that Anderson explores in relation to the world around them, as a microcosm of the small town American experience of the early 20th century. Much like Dubliners, there is considerable debate on the classification of Winesburg, Ohio as a "short story collection," with many instead referring to it as a "short story cycle" or simply a "novel." Hart Crane said "America should read this book on its knees" and H.L. Mencken called it a "book of uncommon merit."

The book, and Anderson himself, was not without controversy however. His illustrious list of disciples more or less all ended up quarreling and breaking with Anderson after their careers were launched. Critics of Winesburg, Ohio focused on the sordid nature and "ugly" nature of what Anderson depicted. Anderson himself led a tumultuous life and his biography is quite interesting - highlights include randomly quitting his run-of-the-mill copyediting job by walking out and suffering a nervous breakdown before deciding to become a writer quite randomly and abandoning his family.

An ebook is pinned in the linked Discord channel.

https://discord.gg/465umtx

The /lit/ Discord is holding a reading group for Winesburg, Ohio, by Sherwood Anderson, often regarded as one of the foundational texts of American literature. Anderson was credited with being an instrumental mentor to, among others, the likes of Hemingway and Faulkner, Steinbeck, Miller, Wolfe, etc. Wolfe stated Anderson was "the only man in America who ever taught me anything" and Faulkner claims it was Anderson who instilled in him the belief that "being a writer must be a wonderful life," motivating him to write professionally. Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles was modeled directly after Winesburg, Ohio.

The book itself is a collection of short stories that share a setting and a common character, protagonist George Willard, and chronicles his interactions with the inhabitants of the titular small town. The "Grotesques," as the narrator terms the inhabitants of Winesburg, lead lonely and isolated lives that Anderson explores in relation to the world around them, as a microcosm of the small town American experience of the early 20th century. Much like Dubliners, there is considerable debate on the classification of Winesburg, Ohio as a "short story collection," with many instead referring to it as a "short story cycle" or simply a "novel." Hart Crane said "America should read this book on its knees" and H.L. Mencken called it a "book of uncommon merit."

The book, and Anderson himself, was not without controversy however. His illustrious list of disciples more or less all ended up quarreling and breaking with Anderson after their careers were launched. Critics of Winesburg, Ohio focused on the sordid nature and "ugly" nature of what Anderson depicted. Anderson himself led a tumultuous life and his biography is quite interesting - highlights include randomly quitting his run-of-the-mill copyediting job by walking out and suffering a nervous breakdown before deciding to become a writer quite randomly and abandoning his family.

An ebook is pinned in the linked Discord channel.

https://discord.gg/465umtx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMY8a7w0PKI