Description
Book SynopsisA literary critic lovingly explores the ancient practice of list- making in literature, examining literary lists and the wide range of ways writers use them. From Sumerian account tablets and Homer's catalogue of ships to Tom Sawyer's earnings from his fence-painting scheme. Focuses on lists of four American Renaissance authors.
Trade Review"The only study of its kind to focus exclusively on the list and list-making in American Romantic writing, and the first to give full attention to its multifaceted literary design and various aesthetic and philosophical motives. Readable and engaging, it should appeal to students and those interested in the topic of the list generally."—Alan Hodder
"Against the tyranny of rankings, Robert Belknap proposes a more democratic taxonomic system: the list. A spirited account, centered on Melville, Whitman, Thoreau, and going back to the Sumerian tablets."— Wai Chee Dimock, Yale University
