Description:
A compilation of essays focusing on the significance of material culture to Cather's work and Cather scholarship.
Willa Cather and Material Culture is a collection of 11 new essays that tap into a recent and resurgent interest among Cather scholars in addressing her work and her career through the lens of cultural studies. One of the volume's primary purposes is to demonstrate the extent to which Cather did participate in her culture and to correct the commonplace view of her as a literary connoisseur set apart from her times.
Review Quotes: "Willa Cather and Material Culture provides a thought-provoking introduction to cultural studies approaches to Cather . . . [and] avoids some of the faults that such compilations often fall victim to by maintaining focus on the themes announced in the editor's introduction while also managing to offer a satisfying variety of response. In addition, the collection is instructive about lesser-known work and periods in Cather's literary life and about her biography and her cultural surrounds."--Modern Fiction Studies