A Book of Prefaces
Encyclopedia
A Book of Prefaces is H. L. Mencken
's 1917 collection of essays criticizing American culture, authors, and movements. Mencken described the work as "[My] most important book in its effects upon my professional career." In fact, the book was considered vitriolic enough that Mencken's close friend Alfred Knopf
was concerned about publishing it because of the massive increase in patriotism during World War I
in America.
The book was short, a brief eighty pages divided into four essays. The four subjects included Theodore Dreiser
, Joseph Conrad
and James Gibbons Huneker.
But perhaps the most important, and certainly the most outspoken essay was entitled "Puritanism as a Literary Force," during which he alleged that William Dean Howells
, Henry James
, and Mark Twain
were victims of the Puritan spirit.
"The Puritan's utter lack of aesthetic sense, his distrust of all romantic emotion, his unmatchable intolerance of opposition, his unbreakable belief in his own bleak and narrow views, his savage cruelty of attack, his lust for relentless and barbarous persecution-- these things have put an almost unbearable burden up on the exchange of ideas in the United States."
Mencken had criticized Puritanism for many years, famously characterizing it as "the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy," but through World War I his criticism became increasingly outspoken, in part due to the rising tide of Prohibition
.
Mencken's book triggered the imagination of a famous American author. As a teen first entering the world of reading and books in the early 1920s, Richard Wright
found literary inspiration in A Book of Prefaces.
, a professor at the University of Illinois
(Sherman was personally attacked in Prefaces). According to Sherman:
"[Mencken] leaps from the saddle with sabre flashing, stables his horse in the church, shoots the priest, hangs three professors, exiles the Academy, burns the library and the university, and amid smoking ashes, erects a new school of criticism on modern German principles."
Other major critics included Paul Elmer More
and Irving Babbitt
, although neither of these was as vitriolic as Sherman.
"The curse of criticism in America is the infernal babbling of third-rate college professor... [the Book of Prefaces] shook the professors as they had never been shaken before."
H. L. Mencken
Henry Louis "H. L." Mencken was an American journalist, essayist, magazine editor, satirist, acerbic critic of American life and culture, and a scholar of American English. Known as the "Sage of Baltimore", he is regarded as one of the most influential American writers and prose stylists of the...
's 1917 collection of essays criticizing American culture, authors, and movements. Mencken described the work as "[My] most important book in its effects upon my professional career." In fact, the book was considered vitriolic enough that Mencken's close friend Alfred Knopf
Alfred Knopf
Alfred Knopf is the name of:*Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. , founder of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., the publishing company*Alfred A. Knopf, Jr. , son of Alfred A. Knopf, Sr.*Alfred A. Knopf or Knopf Publishing Group, subsidiary of Random House...
was concerned about publishing it because of the massive increase in patriotism during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in America.
The book was short, a brief eighty pages divided into four essays. The four subjects included Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm moral code, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of...
, Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
and James Gibbons Huneker.
But perhaps the most important, and certainly the most outspoken essay was entitled "Puritanism as a Literary Force," during which he alleged that William Dean Howells
William Dean Howells
William Dean Howells was an American realist author and literary critic. Nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters", he was particularly known for his tenure as editor of the Atlantic Monthly as well as his own writings, including the Christmas story "Christmas Every Day" and the novel The Rise of...
, Henry James
Henry James
Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
, and Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
were victims of the Puritan spirit.
"The Puritan's utter lack of aesthetic sense, his distrust of all romantic emotion, his unmatchable intolerance of opposition, his unbreakable belief in his own bleak and narrow views, his savage cruelty of attack, his lust for relentless and barbarous persecution-- these things have put an almost unbearable burden up on the exchange of ideas in the United States."
Mencken had criticized Puritanism for many years, famously characterizing it as "the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy," but through World War I his criticism became increasingly outspoken, in part due to the rising tide of Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
.
Mencken's book triggered the imagination of a famous American author. As a teen first entering the world of reading and books in the early 1920s, Richard Wright
Richard Wright (author)
Richard Nathaniel Wright was an African-American author of sometimes controversial novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction. Much of his literature concerns racial themes, especially those involving the plight of African-Americans during the late 19th to mid 20th centuries...
found literary inspiration in A Book of Prefaces.
Critical Response
Response to Mencken's book was generally poor, but certain defenders of American culture were particularly outspoken in their criticism of the book—most notably Stuart ShermanStuart Sherman
Stuart Pratt Sherman was an American literary critic and educator of the early 20th century noted for his criticisms of H. L. Mencken.-Background, education, and academic career:...
, a professor at the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
(Sherman was personally attacked in Prefaces). According to Sherman:
"[Mencken] leaps from the saddle with sabre flashing, stables his horse in the church, shoots the priest, hangs three professors, exiles the Academy, burns the library and the university, and amid smoking ashes, erects a new school of criticism on modern German principles."
Other major critics included Paul Elmer More
Paul Elmer More
Paul Elmer More was an American journalist, critic, essayist and Christian apologist.-Biography:More was educated at Washington University in St. Louis and Harvard University...
and Irving Babbitt
Irving Babbitt
Irving Babbitt was an American academic and literary critic, noted for his founding role in a movement that became known as the New Humanism, a significant influence on literary discussion and conservative thought in the period between 1910 to 1930...
, although neither of these was as vitriolic as Sherman.
Mencken's Response
According to Mencken, Sherman's review was "a masterly exposure of what is going on in the Puritan mind, and particularly of its maniacal fear of the German.""The curse of criticism in America is the infernal babbling of third-rate college professor... [the Book of Prefaces] shook the professors as they had never been shaken before."
Sources
- Bode, Carl Mencken. Southern Illinois University Press, London, 1969.
- Hobson, Fred Mencken. Random House, New York, 1994.
- Manchester, WilliamWilliam ManchesterWilliam Raymond Manchester was an American author, biographer, and historian from Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, notable as the bestselling author of 18 books that have been translated into over 20 languages...
Disturber of the Peace. University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, 1986.