American Literature Commons^™

A William Faulkner Remembrance, Randall Kenan, Phillip M. Weinstein

Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference

A day-long program marking the fiftieth anniversary of William Faulkner’s death:

• 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Marathon reading of The Reivers at Rowan Oak (917 Old Taylor Road)
• 4:15-5:45 p.m. Keynote lectures by author Randall Kenan and biographer Phillip M. Weinstein at Lafayette County Courthouse (1 Courthouse Square). Program for young readers at Square Books Jr. (111 Courthouse Square).
• 6:00-7:00 p.m. Book signings by Kenan and Weinstein at Off Square Books (129 Courthouse Square)
• 8:00-10:00 p.m. Screening of The Reivers (1969 adaptation, starring Steve McQueen) at Lyric Theater (1006 Van Buren Avenue)

Morton, David, 1886-1957 (Sc 449), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 449. Letter written by David Morton, Amherst, Massachusetts, replying to an admirer, Mr. Goodrum. Morton was an author originally of Elkton, Kentucky.

Allen, James Lane, 1848-1925 (Sc 442), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan (Click on "Additional Files) below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 442. Letters from James Lane Allen, Atlantic City, New Jersey, summer 1906, and New York City, 30 September 1906, to cousin Helen inquiring as to the illness of her father, his uncle John, and expressing sorrow at his death.

Harvard Cowboys: The Role Of Silas Weir Mitchell's Creative Works In Defining Western-Style American Masculinity, Becky De Oliveira

The Hilltop Review

There were probably few men better placed in the latter part of the nineteenth century to help other men create a persona of strength and vigor--based quite firmly, too, in the tradition of literature and writing--than Silas Weir Mitchell (1829-1914), a physician who "achieved great success in popularizing the idea of a correlation between mental activity and nerve strain" (Will, 293).

Cobb, Irvin Shrewsbury, 1876-1944 (Sc 2547), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2547. Printed letter of condolence from Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb, 3 April 1942, written to Mrs. Matthew J. Carney on the death of her husband.

Troubetskoy, Amelie (Rives), 1863-1945 (Sc 574), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Mansucripts Small Collection 574. Holographic letter to the editor of Harpers Magazine which concerns letter of acceptance for Amélie (Rives) Troubetskoy’s story, “Her Christmas Caddy” and revisions made under the direction of Mr. Alden.

Morton, David, 1886-1957 (Sc 550), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 550. Letter, 19 March 1949, to Marjorie Clagett, Bowling Green, Kentucky, from poet David Morton, Deerfield, Massachusetts, concerning his visit to Western Kentucky State College, Bowling Green. Also, a printed copy of one of his poems as requested. Morton was originally from Elkton, Todd County, Kentucky.

Obenchain, Lida (Calvert), 1856-1935 (Sc 578), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 578. Photocopies of a letter written by Lida (Calvert) Obenchain, author, from Dallas, Texas, to Otto Rothert, author, Louisville, Kentucky, which contains literary and family information; an article written by Mrs. Obenchain and published in McCall’s Magazine; and some biographical notes.

Wilcox, Ella (Wheeler), 1850-1919 (Sc 577), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collecction 577. Letter written by Mrs. Ella (Wheeler) Wilcox, a poet, to Mr. Bery?, replying to his inquiry about her writings. Also, holographic copy of one of her poems is included.

America In Verse: The Laureate Project, Leah Kind, Dan Gleason, Erin Micklo, Margaret T. Cain

Understanding Poetry

The purpose of this project is to allow students to use their (developing) skills of poetic explication and close reading, combined with research and analysis, to discover and establish a solid case for a poet they will nominate as the next American Poet Laureate. Working in groups of 3-4, students will identify a published, living American poet who has not yet been designated a laureate. The project demands a wide array of skills as the students research bibliographic information on the poet: read and analyze the poet’s body of work and select one central poem to represent that poet; amass …

Cawein, Madison Julius, 1865-1914 (Sc 531), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 531. Letter from poet Madison Julius Cawein, Louisville, Kentucky, to Fred H. Day, Boston, Massachusetts, a publisher, relative to several of Cawein’s books of poetry and to a book by novelist and poet Alice Brown.

My Mark Twain: Old Man River, Amelia Tatum Grabowski

Student Publications

Flowing across his pages, the Mississippi River inextricably winds itself through Mark Twain’s canon. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that my image of Clemens, my Mark Twain, is as a personification of his beloved river. Twain draws his readers to the water’s edge, seduces readers to stare into his depths, and reflects the achievements and failings of humanity. Furthermore, like the Mississippi River, Twain embeds himself in the American psyche.

Banks, Nancy (Huston), 1850-1934 (Sc 516), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 516. Letter, 8 June 1902, from Nancy Banks, Morganfield, Kentucky, to Mr. Parker, inquiring as to whether he had received a copy of her book "Oldfield" which she sent him because of his assistance to her in the writing of it.

Rice, Cale Young, 1872-1943 (Sc 459), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 459. Letter from Cale Young Rice, Louisville, Kentucky, to Stuart McKenzie, of Florida, in which Rice discusses some of his own writings. Also printed book reviews (3).

"A Shade Too Unreserved": Destabilizing Sexuality And Gender Constructs Of The New Negro Identity In Harlem Renaissance Literature, Renee E. Chase

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Much of the Harlem Renaissance artistic movement was directly intertwined with the New Negro social movement of the time. Race leaders spoke to and influenced artistic trends, while artists often engaged with the New Negro race issues and social debates through their works. Wallace Thurman, Nella Larsen, and Zora Neale Hurston used their own fictional works to explore the New Negro construct being promoted. In examining the constructed nature of this New Negro identity, these artists strove to destabilize the social "norms" upon which the identity was based. As they thematically and stylistically explored such social constructs through their fiction, …

Philips, Emanie (Nahm) Sachs Arling, 1893-1981 - Relating To (Sc 2533), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2533. Typewritten remarks, author unknown, about Emanie Nahm’s 1924 novel, Talk. The reviewer speculates on the people and places in Nahm’s home town of Bowling Green, Kentucky on which the novel may have been based, and refers to a reported visit to Nahm in Bowling Green by the author Rebecca West.

The Action Of Grace In Territory Held By The Devil: Flannery O’Connor And Cormac Mccarthy, Scott A. Singleton

The Kennesaw Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper compares the lives and work of Flannery O’Connor and Cormac McCarthy. The two authors share similarities in their backgrounds, careers, and work. The paper begins with an examination of biographical information of both authors to contextualize their work and note commonalities in their lives and careers. The central idea is that Flannery O’Connor and Cormac McCarthy both create grotesque characters to reveal the depraved condition of humanity in order to highlight the need for redemption and the possibility of divine grace. To prove this, examples are discussed from multiple pieces of work by O’Connor and McCarthy including The …

“To Make Myself For A Person”: The Bildungsroman In Modern Jewish-American Literature, Kari Lynn Keeling

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anzia Yezierska's Bread Givers and Abraham Cahan's The Rise of David Levinsky share many similarities: they both feature young Jewish protagonists who immigrate to America in search of the better life they believe America can provide. Though their novels have similar trajectories, each author answers the still relevant question of how immigrants might successfully assimilate into American culture in contrasting lights. Cahan's protagonist, in a superficial sense, achieves the "American dream," while Yezierska's Sara achieves a more modest success. However, Sara ultimately navigates the trials of cultural assimilation and identity formation more successfully. Levinsky gains monetary wealth by adapting to …

Anxiety And The Newly Returned Adult Student, Michelle Navarre Cleary

School of Continuing and Professional Studies Faculty and Staff Works

Based on interviews with students who had recently returned to school, this essay demonstrates the need for, challenges of, and ways to respond to the writing anxiety many adults bring with them back to school.

Monsters In Our Midst: An Examination Of Human Monstrosity In Fiction And Film Of The United States, Michelle Kay Hansen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The chapters within this dissertation concentrate on textual analysis of literature and film in which monsters appear in various forms, and particularly how those monsters still coincide with Noel Carroll's definition of "art-horror" in his book Philosophy of Horror, while proving that Carroll's definition of monster - and any others who may attempt to limit the definition of monstrosity - is incomplete and much too restrictive. I will be concentrating on monstrosity as it appears in gothic and horror fiction, film, and other elements of popular culture in order to explore the concept of "the monstrous" on multiple levels.

The …

Love Is Just A Word For The Last Body I'D Like To Keep Vigil Over, Robert Jagger

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Love is Just a Word for the Last Body I'd Like to Keep Vigil Over is a collection of poetry that was composed during my time spent at UNLV. Comprised mostly of prose poems, it was heavily influenced by the works of Richard Hugo, Robert Coover, Joshua Marie Wilkinson and several French poets who are often categorized as being members of either the Symbolist or Decadent movement. At its best, the collection attempts to invoke a sense of Joseph Cornell's boxes--odd juxtapositions of everyday items and language that create new and uncertain circumstances. Unlike Cornell's boxes, however, the poems aren't …

Tiny Animals Made To Do Unnatural Things, Ashley Mary Siebels

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The stories in this collection revolve around a central theme which is expressed by my titleTiny Animals Made To Do Unnatural Things. All my characters feel guilt about decisions and experiences that haunt their past. In the present, they have come to a crossroads and are trying to decipher between what they were made to do as in vocation and evolution and what they are being made to do by the authorial pressures that loom over them (e.g. bosses, parents, loan officers, prison guards.)

In this way, my thesis pivots on the word made. Made (or to make) has many …

Two For Confidence, Antonio Shaw

All Theses

In this comedic short story, Jamez Wythazee (pronounced 'James With-a-Z') has just left a house party after being rejected by his dream girl, Monique Nettles. Lost in his thoughts of inadequacy, jealousy, and intra-racial conflict, he does not notice that he is being followed. Before he knows it, Jamez finds himself attacked by a mysterious assailant who possesses razor-sharp claws and inhuman speed. Even more amazing, Jamez somehow survives the assailant's attacks with little effort and completely unscathed. The mysterious attacker turns out to be a desperately hungry vampire named Maximilian Marvis. After a humorous exchange of insults and a …

The Children Of Cain: Melville's Use Of The Abject Lineage From The Bible, Joseph Matthew Meyer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study looks at how the abject lineage--consisting of Cain, Ishmael and Esau--has played an influential role in the works of Herman Melville. While many critics have exploredthe relationship between Melville and these characters in the past, my study proposes that the author was intimately aware of the differences between these characters and their relationship to God and used these differences to compose his works. Ultimately, Melville struggled with the need for an abject lineage, and this struggle manifests itself most prominently in the evolving silence of Christ from Mardi to "Bartleby."

Happily Ever After? Redefining Womanhood And Marriage In Nineteenth-Century Novels, Laura Elizabeth Cox

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Charlotte Brontë, and Henry James challenged patriarchal conventions and assumptions by redefining womanhood and marriage in their novels, particularly by breaking from the traditional marriage ending. While Pride and Prejudice, North and South, and Jane Eyre end in marriage, these novels depict a freely chosen companionate marriage based on equality; Villette replaces the typical marriage ending with complete independence; and Washington Square and The Portrait of a Lady both portray the decisive rejection of the marriage ideal for a life of renunciation. This thesis analyzes the ways in which these novels challenge nineteenth-century society, as well …

James Jones's Codes Of Conduct, Matthew Samuel Ross

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Though his work was celebrated by his contemporaries and remains highly lauded by scholars of war fiction, James Jones's novels are already at risk of falling outside the mainstream canon of 20th Century American literature. My dissertation project proposes an intensive examination of James Jones' three volume war trilogy, From Here to Eternity, The Thin Red Line, and Whistle, collectively considered by eminent critic Paul Fussell to be the finest work to emerge from the Second World War. Jones' trilogy is a mainstay within the overall genre of war fiction, yet it has been afforded relatively little critical attention by …

About A Yellow Ball, Shannon Alice Salter

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

These are poems made from many things: color, eggs, oranges, many kinds of seeds, leaves, wind, California, the desert, birds. They are things alive in the world and alive in my heart. I cannot take them out of the world, but from my heart I can have whatever appears on its surface. The language of steam.

They are poems that like to be at home.

California is my home and so is the Mojave (and so is every desert). I live in a valley about four hundred miles from the Pacific Ocean, in the city of Las Vegas. What better …

From Martyrs To Mothers To Chick In Choos: The Medieval Female Body And American Women's Popular Literature, Gina M. Sully

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Placing the generic conventions of medieval hagiography, Nina Baym's insights about nineteenth-century American sentimental fiction's overplot, and contemporary American women's popular literature into tension illuminates some important commonalities. First, biographers of the medieval virgin saints and authors of contemporary American women's popular literature deploy the same overplot that Baym identifies as characteristic of American women's nineteenth-century popular fiction. Second, in order to define feminine virtue and establish the virtue of their protagonists, nineteenth-century and post-millennial American women writers rework the contrastive tropes by which hagiographers establish their heroines' virtue. Third, struggles for ascendance in the domestic realm gesture toward its …

Bolton, Joseph Edward, 1961-1990 (Mss 404), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scans of selected folders (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Collection 404. Collected loose poems of Joseph E. Bolton, a native of Cadiz, Kentucky and a Western Kentucky University graduate. Bolton published two books of poetry in his lifetime. A posthumous collection, The Last Nostalgia, was edited by Don Justice and published in 1999. The bulk of the collection relates to Justice’s research notes and correspondence regarding publication of The Last Nostalgia.

Warren, Robert Penn Oral History Collection, 1977-1982 (Mss 383), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 383. Transcripts, notes, and cassette tapes for interviews conducted by Dr. Wilford Fridy with individuals who knew or knew about John Wesley Venable, Jr., the person on whom Robert Penn Warren based the character Bolton Lovehart in his novella "Circus in the Attic." Interviews mention other people and places that Warren knew in Todd County, Kentucky. Also includes tapes of Robert Penn Warren giving a speech, reading some of his work, and an interview with Warren.