Bound by paper: nineteenth-century Southern editors and their Northern connections

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Summar C. Sparks (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Karen Weyler

Abstract: Nineteenth-century editors frequently discussed their work in public forums (including their own periodicals) and in private correspondence. These sources provide insight into how editors imagined their work and their professional roles. For many nineteenth-century editors, one of the most important (and underappreciated) elements of their work was building expansive social networks that promoted productive relationships between writers, readers, and other editors. After establishing the function of the nineteenth-century editor in Chapter I, I proceed in the remaining chapters to examine how specific Southern editors attempted to gain access to a national audience by cultivating relationships with their Northern counterparts. Chapter II uses Caroline Gilman’s career to demonstrate the many ways that, despite her religious and family connections to the Boston literati, her gender prevented her from establishing the types of professional ties that could have advanced her career. Chapter III analyzes the impact of the New York-based Young America movement on the career of William Gilmore Simms, and Chapter IV contends that Edgar Allan Poe lacked the social capital necessary to successfully negotiate a professional relationship with New York editor Nathaniel Parker Willis. These chapters demonstrate the importance of social networks, particularly connections with Northerners, in the professional lives of Southern editors.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 2015
Keywords
Caroline Gilman, Edgar Allan Poe, Print Culture, Southern Nationalism, William Gilmore Simms, Young America
Subjects
Newspaper editors $x Social networks $y 19th century
Periodical editors $x Social networks $y 19th century
Authors $x Social networks $y 19th century
Nationalism and literature $z United States $y 19th century
Nationalism $z Southern States $y 19th century
Gilman, Caroline Howard, $d 1794-1888
Poe, Edgar Allan, ‡d 1809-1849
Simms, William Gilmore, $d 1806-1870
Willis, Nathaniel Parker, $d 1806-1867

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