Boon's Lick times. [volume] (Fayette, Mo.) 1840-1848, 1841-11-20
The Prairie Flower,

AN INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE OF LITERATURE AND
... CRITICISM.
Western Literature CUntuund the phrase we
nope We shall never hear another word about
Western Literature as long as we live! What
Is western" literature that it is different from
eastern or southern or any other sort OF Literature!
Scarcely newspaper or periodical which we open
is without some encouraging and cOndescendlng
love-pat on the poor shoulder Of "wesern htera-
ture," or "western poetry" or some such outru-
ge0us nonsense. Now we have the presumption
to believe that literature and poetry, wherever they
| exist, are founded upon the same immutable prln-
ciple, which principle is communication of hu-
man genius with the immortal beauty pervadlng
all naure-whIch shapes alike the cloud, the rain
bow, the starry skies, the whispering landscape,
and clothes tEem in all its celestial essences-und
which deveIepes with its beauty creating power
as well the delicate rOse-l~af as the SOULS highest
aspirations after the infinite and the eternal. In
the material as well as the intellectual world,
every thing tends constantly towards perfection
The germ bursts from the rotiDg seed, in the dark
fnrrow, and springs upward towards the light to
bring forth its perfect and beautiful forns-even
as The soul Of man, struggling with the nlsts OF
animal passion and cropping in the darkness OF It's
imperfect organization, tends upward and onward
till it again mingIes with the divine source Ut
beauty whence it sprung
IaiS is literature; and what miserable nonsense,
then, to talk Of western" literature, as II 1t were
a thing apart from the general order OF nature
some interesting phenOmeROn-an intellectual
monstrosity--to be patted encouragingiy ON the
back, and to receive the stinted and reluctant
praises of self-appOinted eastern" critics. be-
slowed very much in the same manner that they
would drop shilling into the hat of an itneran Mt
mendicant, who murders Cinderea's Waltz and
the overture to Fra DiavOo on u villaIous hand
organ! We want no such patronizing encourage
ment. Does western patriotism, western"
e!oquence, or "western" craftsmanship, shrink
from comparison with the patriotic and the eo-
quent of the world! When men speek Of Clay, or
Prentice, or Marshall, do they qualify their admi
ration by the remark that "they are pretty well for
a new conntry?" and why should distinctions 50
odious and 50 ridiculous be made respecting liera-
ture! We are sick of this atfectanon; and, 50
far as our humble abilities go, we are determined
that it shall. be done away with. We are about to
commence the publication of an independent maya
zlae VI literature and Notwithstanding within
its range every Jet of interest in bellies letres
the fine arts and general literature. N e mean to
show the increduous world that the unnOtced
PRAIRIE-FLowER, which wastes it sweetness on
the desert air." glows with as divine a beauty,
and breathes as pure fragrance, as the gayest
exotic that faunts in the parerrcs of metropolitan
fashion. We ask no allowances to be made-nu
indulgences 10 be granted--our modest bouuet
because it chances to be gathered from the path
less prairie, within the shadows Of the Indians
wig-wam or the rude hut Of the ruder pioneer
We wish our work 10 be judged strictly, severely
without prejudice Or favor; and if the PRAIRIE
FLOWER, dripping with fresh and oderous dews,
finds welcome, we--if it be thrown aside, to min
gle unnoticed with the rubbish which >trews the
earth, it is also well. The only favor we ask for
it is that nv favor, beyond its strict deserts, shall
be extended to il.
The first number Of the PRAIRIE FLOWER will
re issued on the first Of November next-after that,
1t will appear monthly. The form chosen for the
work is similar to the other monthly magazines
a large octave, each number containing from AZ to
ia pages.
The price Of the Prairie Flower is IS year.
Single numbers can always be procured, ut 50 cents
each
Letters relating to the work may be addressed,
postpaid TO "Publishers of the Prairie Flower,
St. Louis Mo "
st Louis, Sept. "a, lS4l.