The Yazoo Democrat., 1860-03-31
LITERARY SECTIONALIsM AND LITERARY
SURSERVIENCY

The world Of letters presents some remarKao'e
and apparently conflicting phenomena We hnd
there as much jealousy as IN the world ofpOlitics
Literary merit is made to depend, in great
measure, on geographical fines. In England, it
is rare to find any commendaton Of an American
book. In the United States, North of Mason
Dixon's line, 1t is equally rare to meet with com
Imendation of a writer who resides on the sunny
side Of that line. We would suppose, prima
lfaeis, that the converse of these propositions
would be true, that the merits Of English writers
would be reluctantly acknowledged in America,
and the preferences be given always to native
talent md that, in the Southern States we
would give preference to the writings of South.
erners over those of our Northern brethern
But such is not the case. North and South, we
give preference to English writer's; and in the
South VIC will scarcely Concede any merit to a
Southern poet or author, while we give praise to
Northern literature second only to that which we
bestow on transatlantic literature.
Those things have been, to some extent, treated
Of by Edgar A. Poe. In his article on William
Faber" is an imitation of "Miserrimus," " he says :
"Iiis Martin Faber,' in our opinion, is more
forcible story than its supposed prototype, Mis-
errimus' The difference in the American recep-
blush while recording it) that 'Miserrimus' was
understood to be the work Of an Englishman, and
Martin Faber' was known to be the composition
Of an American as yet unaccredited in our Re-
public of Letters. The fiction of Mr.. Simms gave
indication, we repeat, of genius, and that of no
common order. Had he been even Yankee,
this genius would have been rendered immediate
" manifest to his countrymen, but unhappily
| (perhcps) he was Southerner, and united the
Southern pride-the Southern dislike to the
making of bargains-with the Southern supine-
ness and general want of tact in all matters re-
lating to the making of money.-Poes Works,
vol. 3, p. 975.
In speaking Of the poet, William Ross Wallace,
Of Kentucky. MIR. Poe says: "Had Mr. W. been
born under the wings of that nefable buszard,
"The North American Review, his unusual mer-
its would long ago have been bazoned to the
word-as the far inferior merits of Sprague, Dana,
and others Of Ike cabre, have already been
blazoned "--Pos's Works, rol g. p $40.
Again, in his "Margnalia," he says: awe
complain of our want of an International Copy.
right, on The ground that this want justifes our
publishers in inundating us with British opinion
in British books and yet when thsse very pub
fishers, at their own obvious risk, and even OBJ
vious loss do publish an American book we turn
up our noses at it with supreme contempt (this as
a general thing until it Uhe American book has
been dubbed readable" by some iiliterete cock
ney critic. Is it too much to say that with US,
the opinion of Washington Irving-of Prescott
of Bryant--is mere nullity in comparison with
that Of any anonymous sub-editor of the Specta-
tor, the hthenRum, or the London Punch"?
1t is NOS saying too much to say this 1t is a
solemn-un absolutely awful fact Every pub
Usher in the country will admit it to be a fact
There is not a more disgusting spectacle under
tho sun than our subseryency to British criticism
1t is disgusting, first, because it is trucking GER
vile, pusillanimous secondly, because Of its
gross irrationality. We knop the British TO bear
US little but i'll will-we know that in the few in.
stances in which our writers have been treated
with common decency in England, these writer's
have either openly paid homage TO English ins-
tutions have had lurking at the bottom Of their
hearts a secret principle at war with Democracy
we know all this, and yet day after day, submit
our neCks to the degrading yoke of the cruelest
opinion that eminates from the fatherland. ."-Poe's
Works pol. 8, PIP. 55l-552.
The neglect g Southern authors by Northern
critics. and even by Southern readers, is also set
forth. chad the George Balcombe" of Profes.
sor Beverly Tucker been the work of any one
born North of Mason DixOns line, it would
have been long ago recognized as one of the
very noblest tictions ever written by an American
1t is almost as good as " Caleb Williams" 81
1t is high time that the literary South
took its own interests iutoits own charge And
on the same page he says: "a long time ago
twenty three or four years at least-Edward C u
Pinckney, of Baltimore, published an exqlste
poem entitled "A Health" 1t was profoundly
NN'ANN - Wv NAAN''NA uul udu lllllb ClTCus
lation this for no better reason than that the
author was born TOO far Outh."-TOeS Works,
rot. 3, Up. 5l8.
All these things are too true TO be disputed and
they are as dsgraceful as true. We have in this
community Il large number Of reading people.
They read all the late English novels, and some of
the elder; they devour Thackeray, Bulwer Love,
Lever, and many of lower merit; and some have
allowed enough time from English fiction to read
Cooper's novels, or some of them. But how many
Of them have read single novel written by
William Gilmore Simms2 How many of them
ever knew that Professor Beverly Tucker, of vir-
ginia, has written a novel called "Oeorge Bal
combe"? They read Byron, Moore, Shelley,
Bailey, Tennyson, and even Tupper, some will
spend short time with els Atlantic Bryant Long
fellow and Willis; but bow many know that there
is such poet as William Ross Wallace, or as
Edward G. Pinckneyf
We can hardly say we hope for speedy re-
formation in this respect But we irish very much
that it may be so. Let the press unite in vigor-
Gus and sustained effort to secure for Americans,
and especially for Southern writer's. the bare JUS