FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, JULY 5, 2001
CONTACT: John Caldwell Guilds, professor of English(501)575-4301, [email protected]
Allison Hogge, science and research communications officer(501)575-5555, [email protected]
UA RESEARCHER SAVES GREAT SOUTHERN WRITER FROM OBSCURITY
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- In 1859, William Gilmore Simms was heralded as the greatest living American writer. Almost 150 years later, his poems, stories and essays have disappeared from literary anthologies. But a University of Arkansas researcher is working to reinstate Simms in the literary canon.
"Simms enjoyed one of the finest reputations of any writer of his time, and it was well-deserved. Unfortunately, he's since fallen into neglect," said John Guilds, professor of English. "Without the reading and study of his works, we miss a critical portion of American literary history -- the voice of the 19th century South."
Guilds believes that it's time for America to rediscover Simms. As a noted scholar of Southern literature, Guilds has devoted his academic career to promote and prepare for that event. In 1992, he wrote an award-winning biography of the author, and for the past 13 years, Guilds has been working with the University of Arkansas Press to bring Simms' novels back into print. So far, the program has produced eight books. In May, Fulbright College awarded Guilds one of its highest honors, naming him a Fulbright Master Researcher for his work.
Guilds' latest contribution to the legacy comes with the publication of a 416-page anthology of Simms' poetry, short fiction, letters and essays. Titled "The Simms Reader," the anthology was edited by Guilds and released in June as part of the University Press of Virginia's Southern Texts Society. Guilds believes the book will serve as a useful introduction to the writer's work.
"Simms wrote so much that people don't know where to begin reading, and that's why I think this anthology will be of use," Guilds said. "His letters alone filled six volumes when published, so even selecting 15 to 20 for the anthology was a big task."
A prolific writer, Simms produced 82 books in his lifetime -- more than any other American before the Civil War. In his early career, he enjoyed nationwide popularity, with a reputation rivaling that of Nathaniel Hawthorne and James Fenimore Cooper.
Edgar Allan Poe praised Simms' collection "The Wigwam and the Cabin" as the best book of fiction yet to appear in America, saying: "¥in invention, in vigor, in movement, in the power of exciting interest, and in the artistical management of his themes, [Simms] has surpassed, we think, any of his countrymen." In quality, several of Simms' novels are among the finest examples of 19th century American writing, Guilds said.
But as the nation braced itself for the start of Civil War, regional tensions began to occlude Simms' talent. As a native of South Carolina, Simms found himself increasingly identified as a "Southern writer"-- a label that, at the time, was more of a curse than a distinction.
"Simms wanted to be known as an American writer," Guilds said. "He couldn't understand why Hawthorne, who wrote out of New England, was considered an American writer while he, living in the South, was considered a Southern writer. He felt marginalized even within his own lifetime."
Simms' difficulties escalated with the end of the Civil War, when prejudice against Southern lifestyle and culture reached a peak. He found Northern publishers unwilling to print his books and Northern readers unsympathetic.
To preserve his livelihood, Simms was forced to adopt a completely new style of writing. From traditional literature, he turned to tall tales, using dialect and humor to mask criticisms of the North. Though many of these stories were published and praised, Simms never regained his nationwide appeal.
Guilds believes it was politics rather than lack of literary merit that erased Simms from the canon, and he considers it an unjust punishment. Modern anthologies of American literature contain not a single writer representing the antebellum South, a fact that Guilds regards as a significant gap in American literary history. As one of the most prolific and talented of 19th century American writers, Simms deserves to fill that niche, Guilds argues.
Further, despite the fact that Simms was a staunch secessionist and a defender of Southern tradition, his treatment of minority and women characters was surprisingly sympathetic. When he portrayed slavery in his stories, Simms was not attempting to promote that social policy but to realistically reflect the society in which he lived.
"Simms was interested in human beings of all races. He wrote a more accurate and respectful portrayal of the American Indian than any other writer of the 19th century, and he had an enlightened view of the role of women," Guilds said. "He was interested in character and psychology and realism long before any other American writer."
Guilds believes that literary scholars have continued to ignore Simms, in part because of the liberal attitudes inherent in their field. He suspects that in the modern world of political correctness, Simms' old-time Southern lifestyle and perspective may be viewed as wrong.
"Literary scholars have always been defenders of human rights, and that's a noble effort," Guilds said. "But I think the historians have a better idea: a person can be accomplished and important in spite of his personal politics."
# # #
RSS