Local color writing

E68143

Local color writing is a literary movement that emphasizes the distinctive characteristics of a particular region—its dialect, customs, landscape, and social norms—to create a vivid sense of place.


Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf literary movement
literary style
regionalism in literature
aimsTo create a vivid sense of place
analyzedWithConcept center-periphery relations in culture
cultural identity
place and space in literature
canReinforce regional stereotypes
canServeAs document of local customs and speech patterns
contrastedWith cosmopolitan literature
nationalist literature that downplays regional differences
developedInCountry United States of America
surface form: United States
emergedInPeriod late 19th century
emphasizes local traditions
regional identity
specific cultural practices
focusesOn distinctive characteristics of a particular region
hasCharacteristic depiction of local customs
detailed description of landscape
emphasis on a specific geographic region
representation of regional social norms
use of regional dialect
hasCriticalDebate issues of race, class, and gender representation
tension between authenticity and exoticism
hasNotablePractitioner Bret Harte
Hamlin Garland
Joel Chandler Harris
Kate Chopin
Mark Twain
Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
Sarah Orne Jewett
influenced 20th-century regional fiction
contemporary place-based writing
influencedBy post-Civil War social and cultural changes in the United States
oftenFeatures detailed setting descriptions
nostalgic tone
plots centered on everyday life
stereotypical or strongly marked regional characters
oftenUses frame narratives or anecdotal structures
vernacular speech
relatedGenre naturalism
realism
relatedTo American Regionalism
surface form: American literary regionalism
studiedIn American literature courses
comparative literature
typicalSetting Southern United States
surface form: American South

Old West
surface form: American West

Midwestern rural communities
New England

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Kate Chopin movement Local color writing