Bergson and American Culture: The Worlds of Willa Cather and Wallace Stevens

by Tom Quirk

Overview

Bergsonian "vitalism" challenged the dominance of Spencerian determinism in the early twentieth century and seemed to offer a new foundation for belief in human freedom and individual possibility. Quirk traces the impact of Bergsonism upon the American sensibility and shows how individual writers — particularly two such different artists as Willa Cather and Wallace Stevens — appropriated vitalistic notions and made them serve the peculiar requirements of their own unique creative imaginations.

Originally published in 1990.

A UNC Press Enduring Edition — UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807897560
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	01/06/2011
Edition description:	1
Pages:	318
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

An absorbing and frequently enlightening perspective on American culture shortly before the Great War. . . . Quirk's study adds a dimension to our thinking about Stevens and Cather that must affect the way we read them.—Wallace Stevens Journal



Quirk takes us on an intensely satisfying journey through Bergson's thought and American vogue as they became an important source in Cather's fiction and Stevens's poetry. Amid the critically limited depreciation of literature fashionable in recent years, here is a splendid work of literary scholarship and enjoyable interpretation that is coherent, appreciative, illuminating, and extremely readable.—Kermit Vanderbilt, San Diego State University

Editorial Reviews

"An absorbing and frequently enlightening perspective on American culture shortly before the Great War. . . . Quirk's study adds a dimension to our thinking about Stevens and Cather that must affect the way we read them."--"Wallace Stevens Journal"

"Quirk takes us on an intensely satisfying journey through Bergson's thought and American vogue as they became an important source in Cather's fiction and Stevens's poetry. Amid the critically limited depreciation of literature fashionable in recent years, here is a splendid work of literary scholarship and enjoyable interpretation that is coherent, appreciative, illuminating, and extremely readable."--Kermit Vanderbilt, San Diego State University

From the Publisher

Quirk (English, U. of Missouri) traces the impact of the philosophies of Henri Bergson upon the American sensibility in the early 20th c. and shows how individual writers, particularly Willa Cather and Wallace Stevens, used Bergsonian notions in their work. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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