Search results for ""author kevin j. hayes""

The story of the critical reception of Crane's great Civil War novel from its publication to the present, with particular attention to the effects of later wars on that reception. Stephen Crane's masterpiece The Red Badge of Courage was a sensation when it first appeared in 1895: many readers were astonished that this upstart, born after the Civil War, had written the single best novel on the subject. It remains one of the best books on the experience of war in American literature. Since its publication, The Red Badge has been repeatedly subjected to new scrutiny - not only by the passing of time and the changing of critical trends, but by every new war - to see if Crane's story still holds its power. So far, it has done so, not just in the eyes of literary critics but also among soldiers. The two world wars, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: all these have shaped the book's critical reception; and veterans, many of whom have commended Crane's insight into the experience of battle, have significantly affected how it has been read and understood. After World War I, Red Badge was closely associated with modernist novels written by those with wartime experience, Ernest Hemingway most importantly. After World War II and Korea, the book resonated with the manyveterans the G.I. Bill brought into the classroom to study American literature, some of whom became critics themselves. And during and after Vietnam and the other controversial wars that have followed, Crane's book has continuedto call forth a steady stream of critical response. Kevin J. Hayes's book is the story of the critical reception of The Red Badge both in and out of war.

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An action-packed retelling of the life and work of the polymath and so-called First American, Benjamin Franklin. All Benjamin Franklin biographers face a major challenge: they must compete with their subject. In one of the greatest autobiographies in world literature, Franklin has already told his own story, and subsequent biographers have often taken Franklin at his word. In this exciting new account, Kevin J. Hayes takes a different approach. Hayes begins when Franklin is eighteen and stranded in London, describing how the collection of curiosities he viewed there fundamentally shaped Franklin's intellectual and personal outlook. Subsequent chapters take in Franklin's career as a printer, his scientific activities, his role as a colonial agent, his participation in the American Revolution, his service as a diplomat, and his participation in the Constitutional Convention. Containing much new information about Franklin's life and achievements, Hayes's critical biography situates Franklin within his literary and cultural milieu.

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Details Lawrence's reception of Melville and reveals his underacknowledged role in the Melville Revival, while contributing to the history of the book and the study of the creative process. How Lawrence Read Melville is a highly focused account of D. H. Lawrence's discovery and reception of Herman Melville, from when he first read Moby-Dick as a young man to his final references to Melville in his late works. It shows Lawrence's initial reaction to Moby-Dick; how it led him to other works by Melville, namely Typee and Omoo; and how Melville affected Lawrence's critical and creative writing and shaped his philosophy. This book is a study of the creative process that shows how one great writer inspired another, but it also makes a major contribution to the history of the book and two of its subfields: the history of reading, and reception studies. By his death in 1891, Melville had been forgotten except by a small circle of English enthusiasts. That group put Lawrence onto Melville, whereupon he became a - until now largely unacknowledged - leader of the Melville Revival that rescued the great writer from obscurity. This Swiss army knife of a book will appeal to scholars and booklovers alike.

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There are few writers about whom it can be said that they write just like they speak, but Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) is clearly one of them. In 1958, Kerouac was a struggling writer trying to create a new literary aesthetic based on the rhythms of human speech, jazz-based improvisation, autobiography, and American slang. That year saw the publication of his second novel On the Road, which would instantly propel him to fame and ensconce him in the literary establishment. By 1969, he was dead of internal hemorrhaging brought on by excessive drinking. Though his literary reputation may have faded, the revolutionary zeal of his novels and the originality of his voice ensure that his books are continually popular. Whether because of his literary merits or his status as the voice of a new generation of writers, Kerouac is the unchallenged king of the Beat generation. Conversations with Jack Kerouac features interviews ranging from 1957 to 1969, covering the breadth of the author's fame and literary output. Including a piece from the Paris Review and a confrontational interview with CBS's Mike Wallace, the collection reveals Kerouac-whether drunk or sober, erudite or infantile, guarded or convivial-as a thoughtful writer and complex thinker who resisted all labels placed on him. The interviews show how Kerouac revitalized American literature, but they also trace his artistic and physical decline. The final interviews show how much the writer had crippled himself emotionally with too much alcohol and how his art became more unfocused as a result. Ultimately, Kerouac emerges as a tragic figure whose early greatness in such books as On the Road, The Dharma Bums, and The Subterraneans was subsequently consumed by his inability to evolve aesthetically and by his reliance on substance abuse for inspiration. Kevin J. Hayes, Oklahoma City, is professor of English at the University of Central Oklahoma. His previous books include Poe and the Printed Word, Folklore and Book Culture, and An American Cycling Odyssey, 1887, among others.

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