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Author Radner, Joan Newlon, author.

Title Wit and wisdom : the forgotten literary life of New England villages / Joan Newlon Radner
Published Amherst : Bright Leaf, an imprint of University of Massachusetts Press, [2023]

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Description 1 online resource (xiii, 254 pages) : maps
Contents Prologue : the treasure in the attic -- Introduction -- "Report of Last Lyceum" : discovering a forgotten institution -- "A crown of wisdom weave" : the rural lyceum tradition -- "The great work of self-culture" : learning through debate -- "The ladies have nobly responded" : women in the lyceum -- "Who will sustain the paper?" : the work of editing -- "Effulgent in wisdom and sparkling with wit" : exploring the papers -- "Read by so many eager subscribers" : the press as model -- "The speaking eye and the listening ear" : performing the papers -- "How shall we win back lost ground?" : the end of an era -- Epilogue : "coming here among strangers" -- Appendices A. Lyceum papers consulted -- B. Constitution of the Literary Association, West Plymouth, NH (1870) -- C. The Emblem 1, no. 8 (Landaff, NH), February 25, 1860 -- D. "The three centuries," Bean's Corner Sunbeam (Jay, ME), January 16, 1877
Summary "The lyceum movement gained momentum in the decades preceding the Civil War, presenting members the opportunity to participate in literary life and discuss the issues of the day. While urban lyceums played host to a who's who of nineteenth-century intellectual life, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, Frederick Douglass, and Susan B. Anthony, literary societies also cropped up in thousands of villages across the nation, acting as influential sites of learning, creativity, and reform. In rural New England, homegrown lyceums brought together ordinary men and women, young and old, farmers and intelligentsia, selectmen and schoolchildren to write and perform poetry and witty parodies and debate major issues-including slavery, women's rights, temperance, migration, and more. Having uncovered dozens of newspapers produced by village lyceums across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts, Joan Newlon Radner takes readers inside this long-forgotten tradition, offering new access to the vibrant voices, surprising talents, and understated humor on display on many a cold winter's night"-- Provided by publisher
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on August 18, 2023)
Subject Lyceums -- New England -- History -- 19th century
Lyceums -- New England -- Newspapers -- History -- 19th century
Community life -- New England -- History -- 19th century
Lectures and lecturing -- New England -- History -- 19th century
Debates and debating -- New England -- History -- 19th century
HISTORY / General
Community life
Debates and debating
Lectures and lecturing
Lyceums
Wit and humor
SUBJECT New England -- Humor -- History -- 19th century
Subject New England
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2022044967
ISBN 9781685750305
1685750303
9781685750299
168575029X
Other Titles Forgotten literary life of New England villages