Synopses & Reviews
The Shakers' spiritual literacies, defined through an examination of their reading and writing practices, blur boundaries between traditionally masculine and feminine realms by using reason and emotion and by being innovative as well as traditional. This exploration of the relationship between literary practices and religious life in the 19th century, of such genres as autobiographies, elegies, histories, and doctrinal works, provides new insights into the many ways in which literacy enriches people's lives.
This volume will appeal not only to the growing body of Shaker scholars, but also to researchers interested in American literature and culture, literacy, religious history, and gender studies.
Review
I have found [the book] to be highly readable, interesting, cogent, well bolstered by knowledge of relevant secondary studies, and brimming with good ideas. It ought to make significant contributions to interdisciplinary Shaker studies, to the study of American religious culture and to the study of literacy in general. Madden is one of the few people in Shaker studies so far to insist that we look at Shaker literature not just for what it can yield the historian or the scholar of religion, but also for its importance as American culture.Jean M. Humez University of Massachusetts, Boston
Review
To the simple question, 'how did Shakers read and how did they understand writing,' this book returns a remarkably interesting series of answers that engage with the overlapping significance of orality and writing, authority and freedom, ecstasy and control. An important addition to our understanding of the meaning of print, writing, and orality in 19th-century America.David D. Hall Harvard Divinity School
Review
Anyone with an interest in early American literature, literacy, religious history, and gender studies will find this study of Shaker culture a rich and innovative resource.American Literature
Review
To the simple question, 'how did Shakers read and how did they understand writing,' this book returns a remarkably interesting series of answers that engage with the overlapping significance of orality and writing, authority and freedom, ecstasy and control. An important addition to our understanding of the meaning of print, writing, and orality in 19th-century America.David D. Hall Harvard Divinity School
Synopsis
Examines the evolution of the reading and writing practices of the Shakers within the context of 19th century American culture.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [171]-182) and index.
About the Author
ETTA M. MADDEN is Assistant Professor of English at Southwest Missouri State University.
Table of Contents
Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction
Varieties of Literary Experiences: An Overview of Shaker Reading and Writing
Letters, Spirits, and Bodies: The Shakers' Spiritual Literacies
Doctrinal Guides to Spiritual Literacies: McNemar's Kentucky Revival and Dunlavy's Manifesto
(Ad)Dressing Naked Bodies with Pious Suffering: Writing and Readings of the 1816 Testimonies
Reading, Writing, Race, and Mother-Imagery: The Literacies of Rebecca Cox Jackson and Alonzo Giles Hollister
Preserving the Body in Poetry: The Canterbury Obituary Journal
Private Acts and Possible Worlds: Shaker Literacies at the Turn of the Century
Works Cited
Index