In his 1837 speech "The American Scholar," Ralph Waldo Emerson noted, "life is our dictionary," encapsulating a body of work that reached well beyond the American 19th century. This comprehensive study explores Emerson as a preacher, poet, philosopher, lecturer, essayist and editor. There are nearly 100 entries on individual texts and their personal, historical and literary contexts. Emerson's work is placed within his relationships with family members, fellow Transcendentalists and transatlantic friends, and his commitment to ethics, self-culture and social change.

This book provides the fullest possible exploration of Emerson's writing and philosophy. Far ahead of his own time, the man enthusiastically questioned institutions, communities, friendships, history, individuality and contemporaneous approaches to environmental stewardship.

About the Author
Prentiss Clark is an associate professor of English at the University of South Dakota. Her essays appear in The Henry James Review, Nineteenth-Century Literature, The James Baldwin Review and the forthcoming New Cambridge Companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson and Oxford Handbook of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Reviews
"Clark provides nearly 100 encyclopedia-style entries on Emerson's philosophy, major works, influences, historical and cultural contexts, and legacies. ... The book's chief value derives from Clark's expertise not only in Emerson's primary texts (poetry, essays, journals, and sermons) but also in the most recent directions of Emersonian scholarship, including cosmopolitanism, racial justice, ecocriticism, and anti-foundationalist philosophy. The volume is readable and often edifying, even when tackling Emerson's most complicated ideas. ... Experienced Emersonians will find much of value here...highly recommended"-Choice



Book Information
ISBN 9781476677606
Author Prentiss Clark
Format Paperback
Page Count 301
Imprint McFarland & Co Inc
Publisher McFarland & Co Inc
Weight(grams) 540g
Dimensions(mm) 254mm * 178mm * 15mm