Josh - you know I am a fan. I already read three Cather books this year - My Antonia, Death Comes for the Archbishop, and A Lost Lady. Previously I had read O Pioneers which is the book that made me fall in love with her writing. I don't think I will reread these since I read them so recently but I will definitely following along for the discussions.
The thing I love about Cather is how approachable her writing is. You don't need to be a scholar to decipher the text. Her works, while containing significant depth, read like novels, which they are. The characters are easy to identify with because they are normal people. She creates something extraordinary from the mundane.
Thank you, Matthew! And glad that you linked to your post. Excellent point about Cather's accessibility. One good example from O Pioneers! is the opening scene in Part II, where Emil Bergson is whistling the "Jewel" song while mowing the Norwegian graveyard with a scythe. If you don't know that the "Jewel" song is from Charles Gounod's 1859 opera "Faust," no problem -- the narrative carries you along. If you are familiar with that allusion, however, the scene (and the rest of the novel) resonates more deeply.
Thanks for sharing your post. This caught my eye: "Cather developed her full potential once she made her feelings for the land a part of her art." We need more of that.
Thanks. My Antonia is almost a prose poem. Her best novel, I think. O Pioneers seemed very sentimental. But sentimental writing has gotten a bad rap, typically from critics who stress "important" values. There might be a sexism thing going on.
Yes, quite a lot of scholarship on that topic! Look at the default definitions of "Realism" and "Naturalism" compared to what women like Kate Chopin and Sarah Orne Jewett were writing in the late 1800s.
I'm going to do you as fine a favor as one reader can another. Go into your library system (or buy the book, it's that good) and get "Hard Facts" by Philip Fisher. Fisher examines Cooper, Stowe, and Dreiser from their historical, sentimental, and naturalist positions. It's not heavy-going, and like all excellent critics you don't have to be closely familiar these authors, although you'll want to when he's done. The section on Stowe and the function of sentimentality will blow your mind.
Shameless plug: Check out my weekly 'stack. We touch on this stuff, but mostly have some laughs : )
What a lovely idea! The slow read-a-long offers so many opportunities for deep dives that even in a classroom you can't do. As a recovering academic myself (gave up tenure, retired early, and started writing full-time), I'm looking for ways to recreate those classroom experiences that I miss. This is gold!
I've had a copy of "Sapphira and the Slave Girl" on my shelf for years (unread), so welcome this chance to read "My Antonia" w/ such esteemed company. Thanks for doing this.
Sapphira has some truly cringe-worthy moments. But it does raise some interesting questions about what we do with such texts now -- whether canceling them is better than trying to wrestle with all of their problematic layers. Ántonia is more timeless, but has its own layers, which I hope to tease out.
I've been participating in "slow" read-alongs since the pandemic - first in twitter with Yiyun Li and A Public Space's #APSTogether (they're now also on substack); and with an #APSTogether twitter spin-off group currently working our way through Virginia Woolf's novels; and also with author Elizabeth Gaffney in her zoom based writing community where we read aloud together in zoom every morning (www.the24hourroom.org). Hope to join you for Cather!
I think I've read all Cather's novels except Alexander's Bridge which I skipped for a forgotten reason. That was 30+ years ago. I reread The Song of the Lark and Death Comes for the Archbishop every few years, but I'd like a reason to be nudged into rereading the others. Looking forward to it!
Looking forward to this new read-along. I've read her books but it's been years since I've reread them and would enjoy as much reading what you have to write about them. You've given me an excuse to read along. Thanks!
Great that you're doing this. I started Archbishop a long time ago, but got distracted so I left him to his fate somewhere in the desert. Having a guide to a book makes a huge difference, and i know you will be a wonderful one.
Archbishop does move slowly, so I can understand why you might have drifted away from Latour. I think those historical works (Shadows on the Rock is another) resonate more deeply with an understanding of how Cather's aesthetic evolved from the more Romantic notes of the Nebraska novels to the plotless modern style of DCA.
If you've not discovered My Ántonia, I hope you give it a try! There are lots of Cather sites in NYC, too. Perhaps you know that she lived for many years at 5 Bank Street.
Josh, I'm so excited about this idea! I could never read My Antonia enough times. Also, looking at the 61.1 volume (2018) of The Willa Cather Review is such a great way to have more resources as we're reading. I can't wait to see your prompts! (https://www.willacather.org/discover/educational-resources/readers/willa-cather-review)
Ah, thanks for mentioning that issue. A nice series of MA-specific issues to peruse, including 61.1, where your essay appears!
Possibly my favorite published academic essay.
You changed my reading of MA :)
Josh - you know I am a fan. I already read three Cather books this year - My Antonia, Death Comes for the Archbishop, and A Lost Lady. Previously I had read O Pioneers which is the book that made me fall in love with her writing. I don't think I will reread these since I read them so recently but I will definitely following along for the discussions.
The thing I love about Cather is how approachable her writing is. You don't need to be a scholar to decipher the text. Her works, while containing significant depth, read like novels, which they are. The characters are easy to identify with because they are normal people. She creates something extraordinary from the mundane.
If any of your readers are interested in my thoughts on her they can refer to my recent article: https://open.substack.com/pub/matthewmlong/p/my-willa?r=2x99tr&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Looking forward to this. Thanks.
Thank you, Matthew! And glad that you linked to your post. Excellent point about Cather's accessibility. One good example from O Pioneers! is the opening scene in Part II, where Emil Bergson is whistling the "Jewel" song while mowing the Norwegian graveyard with a scythe. If you don't know that the "Jewel" song is from Charles Gounod's 1859 opera "Faust," no problem -- the narrative carries you along. If you are familiar with that allusion, however, the scene (and the rest of the novel) resonates more deeply.
Thanks for sharing your post. This caught my eye: "Cather developed her full potential once she made her feelings for the land a part of her art." We need more of that.
Lovely! Thank you for pointing that out. I had missed it in the original post.
Thanks. My Antonia is almost a prose poem. Her best novel, I think. O Pioneers seemed very sentimental. But sentimental writing has gotten a bad rap, typically from critics who stress "important" values. There might be a sexism thing going on.
Yes, quite a lot of scholarship on that topic! Look at the default definitions of "Realism" and "Naturalism" compared to what women like Kate Chopin and Sarah Orne Jewett were writing in the late 1800s.
I'm going to do you as fine a favor as one reader can another. Go into your library system (or buy the book, it's that good) and get "Hard Facts" by Philip Fisher. Fisher examines Cooper, Stowe, and Dreiser from their historical, sentimental, and naturalist positions. It's not heavy-going, and like all excellent critics you don't have to be closely familiar these authors, although you'll want to when he's done. The section on Stowe and the function of sentimentality will blow your mind.
Shameless plug: Check out my weekly 'stack. We touch on this stuff, but mostly have some laughs : )
I hope to follow along in the last weeks of the semester. My Antonia is the one of Cather’s novels I reread (and assign) most.
I'll be eager for your thoughts as a teacher, Tara. Or maybe you'll turn that part of yourself off for a change? Can we actually do that? 😊
Haha. I haven’t found the off-switch yet. But that’s not to say there isn’t one. :-)
There is one! It's called "sleeping."
😂
I'm in! I've long meant to read this book. Now to find my copy of it . . .
Excellent! Welcome :)
Those free editions at the Willa Cather Archive are good fallbacks.
Thank you! I love Cather.!
What a lovely idea! The slow read-a-long offers so many opportunities for deep dives that even in a classroom you can't do. As a recovering academic myself (gave up tenure, retired early, and started writing full-time), I'm looking for ways to recreate those classroom experiences that I miss. This is gold!
Thanks, Anne! I'd love to hear your insights as we go. The slow pace will be new to me, but I'm eager to see what it yields.
I've had a copy of "Sapphira and the Slave Girl" on my shelf for years (unread), so welcome this chance to read "My Antonia" w/ such esteemed company. Thanks for doing this.
Glad to hear you're on board, Julie!
Sapphira has some truly cringe-worthy moments. But it does raise some interesting questions about what we do with such texts now -- whether canceling them is better than trying to wrestle with all of their problematic layers. Ántonia is more timeless, but has its own layers, which I hope to tease out.
I've been participating in "slow" read-alongs since the pandemic - first in twitter with Yiyun Li and A Public Space's #APSTogether (they're now also on substack); and with an #APSTogether twitter spin-off group currently working our way through Virginia Woolf's novels; and also with author Elizabeth Gaffney in her zoom based writing community where we read aloud together in zoom every morning (www.the24hourroom.org). Hope to join you for Cather!
Fantastic -- so glad you'll join us! And I did not realize that read-alongs have this long a history.
https://apublicspace.org/aps-together
I haven’t read My Antonia since college and look forward to revisiting it!
Great to hear this, Paige! There are many dimensions of the book that never age. Others will look different from your vantage now, I expect.
I think I've read all Cather's novels except Alexander's Bridge which I skipped for a forgotten reason. That was 30+ years ago. I reread The Song of the Lark and Death Comes for the Archbishop every few years, but I'd like a reason to be nudged into rereading the others. Looking forward to it!
Excellent -- welcome, Kate!
Looking forward to this new read-along. I've read her books but it's been years since I've reread them and would enjoy as much reading what you have to write about them. You've given me an excuse to read along. Thanks!
Fantastic, Jill! Glad you'll be joining us.
Josh,
Great that you're doing this. I started Archbishop a long time ago, but got distracted so I left him to his fate somewhere in the desert. Having a guide to a book makes a huge difference, and i know you will be a wonderful one.
Archbishop does move slowly, so I can understand why you might have drifted away from Latour. I think those historical works (Shadows on the Rock is another) resonate more deeply with an understanding of how Cather's aesthetic evolved from the more Romantic notes of the Nebraska novels to the plotless modern style of DCA.
If you've not discovered My Ántonia, I hope you give it a try! There are lots of Cather sites in NYC, too. Perhaps you know that she lived for many years at 5 Bank Street.
I’m planning to read along
I do love the way she writes the opening scene outside Rome in Archbishop