A comprehensive history of southern drama from the colonial period to the present that delineates the rich heritage of dramatic writing in the South. Author Charles Watson explores the field from its 18th- and 19th-century roots through the Southern LIterary Renaissance and Tennessee Williams's triumphs to the plays of 1994 Pulitzer Prize winner Horton Foote. 12 photos .
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Watson (English, emeritus, Univ. of Alabama) writes toward the end of this book that Southern drama has not reached maturity until quite recently. Nevertheless, building on his 1976 study of the antebellum dramatists of Charleston, Watson has produced the first comprehensive history of drama by Southern authors. Following an initial chapter laying out distinguishing characteristics of Southern drama, he surveys the antebellum dramatists. A discussion of Confederate drama is followed by chapters on Espy Williams, Paul Green, DuBose Heyward, Lillian Hellman, black drama, Randolph Edmonds, Tennessee Williams, and recent figures, of whom he argues for Horton Foote as the most significant. Throughout, his arguments are frequently fresh and persuasive. Thoroughly researched and stylishly written, this book is recommended for all graduate-level research collections in American literature and larger Southern public and academic libraries.?Robert W. Melton, Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Provides, finally, the first comprehensive survey of the genre. This landmark volume stands as a corrective to the exclusionary politics within the critical enterprise that have long made dramatists 'the stepchildren of southern literature.'" -- American Literature
"The materials extensively uncovered here, and the lines of connection between them, are certainly such as to bear out Watson's claims for southern drama as 'a valuable body of knowledge.'" -- American Studies
"Such a volume has not previously existed." -- Canadian Review of Comparative Literature
"A valuable resource." -- Choice
"Watson demonstrates the link between southern dramatists and other writers and shows that from the earliest days drama has been a significant element in the South's cultural and political history." -- Georgia Historical Quarterly
"Watson has masterfully mixed the history of more than two hundred years of southern drama with a lifetime of careful reading and thoughtful observation." -- In-Between
"An indispensable genesis for students of southern culture, high and low." -- Journal of Southern History
"Throughout, his arguments are frequently fresh and persuasive. Thoroughly researched and stylishly written." -- Library Journal
"It is the first job of literary history to provide such guidance into the past, and Charles Watson's History of Southern Drama provides it with refreshing thoroughness and clarity." -- Mississippi Quarterly
"Watson has performed a significant service to drama scholars." -- Modern Drama
"Brings to our attention many facts and figures we otherwise might have overlooked." -- Nineteenth-Century Literature
"An important contribution to literary history." -- North Carolina Historical Review
"Watson's study covers a lot of ground and a great many figures." -- Sewanee Review
"The depth of his research, the diversity of his approach, and the wealth of the material he presents make this an invaluable resource for anyone interested in dramatic history and Southern culture." -- Southern Register
"The first general introduction to the subject, and the local detail he provides is sharp and revealing." -- Year's Work in English Studies
"Provides both a catalog of dramatists and plays ripe for further investigation and significant insight into southern politics, social issues, and cultural resources, topics that should be of interest to any serious student of drama or southern history." -- Alabama Review
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