The Word Rides Again: Rereading the Frontier in American Fiction

By J. David Stevens

Book Overview

With much recent scholarship polarizing frontier novels into "popular" and "literary" camps, The Word Rides Again challenges the critical orthodoxy that such works have little in common, arguing instead that formulaic Western fictions can subtly (and even subversively) share cultural concerns with more highbrow brethren. Each chapter focuses on a writer who has traditionally been classified as either popular or artistic, reading a representative fictional work against prevailing scholarly trends. In this manner, Bret Harte's sentimental stories become gender-bending experiments in which women assume male roles and even enjoy lesbian relationships. Owen Wister's The Virginian is transmuted from a misogynistic diatribe into a complex meditation on the peculiarly American relation of violence to male identity. And even Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop, rather than the apotheosis of a religious leader, becomes a somewhat standard version of the popular frontier story.

The Word Rides Again represents a significant departure from more traditional studies of frontier literature. It reaffirms the continuum between popular and literary texts and explores the ways that frontier novels have echoed, endorsed, and extended each other from the inception of the genre.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0821414178
• ISBN13: 9780821414170
• Release Date: February 2002
• Publisher: Ohio University Press
• Length: 260 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.7" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

An Insightful Work

I am a corporate attorney in New York. I participate in a Sunday evening book club that focuses primarily on the classics -- e.g., Homer's "The Iliad" and Plutarch's "Caesar". From time to time, we read academic works. I have attempted, with no success, to get this highly astute, insightful, and scholastic work on our reading list. I have read "The Word Rides Again" twice and yearn for the opportunity to discuss it with others. The author is amazingly perceptive, his analysis is sharp, and his writing style is clear, concise, and comprehensible. I highly recommend this book to everyone. If there is anyone (the author? dare I dream?) who would like to engage in a discussion of "The Word Rides Again," please feel free to send me an e-mail.

Well written!

This is a well written review of the frontier in American fiction. The writing is top-notch and easy to follow. Kudos to the author and his editor. For the most part, the analysis is well-reasoned. However, there are places where the conclusions are too broad, too general, too sweeping. I would like to see a second edition with additional analysis to support these conclusions. Overall, good work!

A Must Read!!!

A must read for all American literature junkies! Dr. Stevens' in-depth analysis and illuminating insight make his book an academic tour de force. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone with an interest in American literature. Bravo, Dr. Stevens, bravo!