Plagiarama!
Subtitle: William Wells Brown and the Aesthetic of Attractions
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 224
ISBN-13: 9780231174428
Subjects: Brown, william wells, 1814?-1884; Plagiarism; American literature, african american authors, history and criticism; Abolitionists; American literature, history and criticism, 19th century
Description: "William Wells Brown (1814-1884) was a vocal abolitionist, a frequent antagonist of Frederick Douglass, and the author of Clotel, the first known novel by an African American. He was also an extensive plagiarist, copying at least 87,000 words from close to 300 texts. In this critical study of Brown's work and legacy, Geoffrey Sanborn offers a novel reading of the writer's plagiarism, arguing the act was a means of capitalizing on the energies of mass-cultural entertainments popularized by showmen such as P. T. Barnum. By creating the textual equivalent of a variety show, Brown animated antislavery discourse and evoked the prospect of a pleasurably integrated world." -- Publisher's description