An Outline Of American State Literature

AN OUTLINE OF AMERICAN STATE LITERATURE BY ELSIE DERSHEM A. B., A. M. Lawrence, Kansas WORLD COMPANY, PUBLISHERS All rights reserved CONTENTS ALABAMA 10 ARIZONA 14 ARKANSAS. 17 CALIFORNIA 19 COLORADO 25 CONNECTICUT 27 DELAWARE 32 FLORIDA ... 33 GEORGIA 35 IDAHO 38 ILLINOIS 39 INDIANA . . . 43 IOWA 46 KANSAS 50 KENTUCKY 55 LOUISIANA 59 MAINE 63 MARYLAND 67 MICHIGAN 76 MINNESOTA 78 MISSISSIPPI . v . . .. ai MISSOURI t amp gt quot r - T- amp gt s 1 1 1 - - - j1 quot f 6 3 O 5 8 S O 2 CONTENTS MONTANA 87 NEBRASKA 90 NEVADA 94 NEW HAMPSHIRE 95 NEW JERSEY . - 98 NEW MEXICO 104 NEW YORK 106 NORTH CAROLINA 123 NORTH DAKOTA 126 OHIO 127 OKLAHOMA 133 OREGON 136 PENNSYLVANIA 140 RHODE ISLAND 145 SOUTH CAROLINA 146 SOUTH DAKOTA 155 TENNESSEE 159 TEXAS 161 UTAH 166 VERMONT 167 WASHINGTON 177 WEST VIRGINIA 179 WISCONSIN 183 WYOMING . . 186 PREFACE For months past I have been working on the quot State Literature of the United States. quot I have written hun dreds of letters to Librarians, to University Professors, to State Historical Societies, and to State Superintendents of Public Instruction. I have met with some difficulties in the obtaining of material, for even where bibliographies and histories of literature exist, it is not always possible to learn of them. I have been much surprised and am very grateful for the interest manifested in the work and for the readiness with which replies have been given to letters and questionnaires. As far as I have been able to learn, there is no book that treats of the literature of the different states. It is seldom even that the state as a unit is mentioned in a text book on American literature. However, nearly all of the states have authors who have writtenbooks about their state literature and as the wealth of the material and the number of authors in the state increase, so will the in terest in local and state literature tend to increase. I have found my subject a very interesting one and hope that this little outline may serve to direct attention toward Ameri can state literature. I have been very successful in obtaining material, es pecially so in regard to a list of authors, so that it has been a difficult question to know what authors to name in so short a list as I have been able to present. The over lappage of states also is a difficult question. I have given no author a residence in a state unless he has been placed there by some state authority. I have named, insofar as I 4 PREFACE have been able, a representative work of each author named. It will be impossible for me to make an acknow ledgement of all the bibliographies and histories of liter ature used, as they include those in the Lawrence and Topeka Libraries, besides many loans from libraries all over the United States. quot Who s Who in America quot gives a bibliography of the living representative authors in the United States, quot The Library of Southern Litera ture published by the Martin and Hoyt Company, At lanta, Georgia, in 1913 and quot Southern Literature by Louise Manly, published in 1895, give a bibliography for the following Southern states Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mis sissippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Calolina, Ten nessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. It will also be impossible for me to make an ac knowledgement of personal help received. I am grate ful for the courtesies shown me by the Librarians ofthe Lawrence and the Topeka Libraries. I am indebted to Professor E. M. Hopkins, and to Professor C. G. Dun lap, of the University of Kansas, for helpful ideas. I wish especially to acknowledge my indebtedness to Pro fessor Selden L. Whitcomb, of the University of Kan sas, for helping in the work throughout the year. Corrections and suggestions are earnestly invited and will be thankfully received. ELSIE DERSHEM, Baldwin, Kansas...