Gold Standard

• Published in: Journal of American studies Vol. 57; no. 1
• Main Author: WHITFIELD, STEPHEN J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.02.2023
• Subjects: American literature; Autopsies; Biographies; Communism; Economic depression; Exlusive Review Essay; Great Depression; Jewish people; Lewis, Harry Sinclair (1885-1951); London, Jack (1876-1916); Lower class; Nobel prizes; Novels; Poetry; Political parties; Short stories; Sinclair, Upton Beall (1878-1968); Social classes; Twain, Mark (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) (1835-1910); Victorian period; Wilder, Thornton (1897-1975); Working class; Writers
• DOI: 10.1017/S002187582200024X
• ISSN: 0021-8758

The subjects of these two books basically belonged to the same generation. Philip Rahv (1908–73) and Michael Gold (1894–1967) shared origins in the Jewish lower class, and rose to literary prominence during the Great Depression. But from the perspective of posterity, what especially links their names is the notion of “proletarian literature.” In novels and short stories, in sketches and poetry, in drama and reportage, the writers who generally accepted this label repudiated the genteel tradition that had crested in the late Victorian era. To be sure, that decorous era of belles lettres had always been contested. It had its outliers – most famously Mark Twain. The list of those who troubled the taste of the era also included, among younger writers, the barely housebroken Theodore Dreiser and Jack London.