Ralph Waldo Emerson: A Companion

In his 1837 speech ＂The American Scholar,＂ Ralph Waldo Emerson noted, ＂life is our dictionary,＂ encapsulating a body of work that reached well beyond the American 19th century. This comprehensive study explores Emerson as a preacher, poet, philosopher, lecturer, essayist and editor. There are nearly 100 entries on individual texts and their personal, historical and literary contexts. Emerson’s work is placed within his relationships with family members, fellow Transcendentalists and transatlantic friends, and his commitment to ethics, self-culture and social change.

This book provides the fullest possible exploration of Emerson’s writing and philosophy. Far ahead of his own time, the man enthusiastically questioned institutions, communities, friendships, history, individuality and contemporaneous approaches to environmental stewardship.

Prentiss Clark is an associate professor of English at the University of South Dakota and the current president of the Ralph Waldo Emerson Society. Her recent essays appear in The Henry James Review and The James Baldwin Review. Laurence W. Mazzeno, president emeritus of Alvernia University, Reading, Pennsylvania, is the author or editor of 20+ books and more than 300 articles and reviews on literature and history. He lives in Arvada, Colorado. Sue Norton, a lecturer of English at the Technological University Dublin since 1999, previously taught in University College Dublin, University College Cork and New Jersey City University.