John Neal

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This article is about the American writer. For the English football player and manager, see John Neal (footballer). For the U.S. Congressman, see John R. Neal.
John Neal

Born August 25, 1793(1793-08-25)
Falmouth (now Portland, Maine), United States
Died June 20, 1876 (aged 82)
Portland, Maine, United States
Occupation Writer, Critic, Lawyer, Architect

John Neal (August 25, 1793–June 20, 1876), was most notably an author and art/literary critic. He was also a man of diverse talents and objectives, many of which were pioneering in his day. For example, he is credited as being the first American author to employ colloquialism in his writing, breaking with more formal traditions in literature.[1] However, he was also undisciplined and often rambling, so despite its period significance, his literary work has drifted into obscurity. He was also an early women's rights advocate, prohibitionist, temperance advocate, opponent of dueling, accomplished lawyer, boxer, and architect.

Contents

[edit] Boyhood, young adulthood, and early business

Born on Free Street in Falmouth (now Portland, Maine) of Quaker parents, he attended school until the age of twelve whereupon he entered into business. For nine years he made a living as haberdasher, clerk, dry goods dealer, traveling penmanship tutor, and miniature artist, among other things, before entering law school in Baltimore, Maryland in 1815. Neal supported himself while in school by writing for local periodicals, and he helped found a literary society, The Delphian Club. Neal wrote for and eventually edited the journal the Delphians created-- a short-lived but influential and admired monthly journal titled The Portico[2]. In short time, he turned to novels and poetry, publishing some six novels and two epic poems (under the pseudonymous 'clubicular' name, "Jehu O'Cataract," a nickname given to him by the Delphians because of his rapid production). He was proud of the speed with which he threw off his volumes, often taking only a week to finish an entire novel. He wrote during this stage in his life that, "I shall write, as others drink, for exhilaration."[3] Neal left for England in late 1823.[4]

[edit] English stint

John Neal's time in London (1824-1827) was a mission: to win recognition in Europe of American literature and demystify the land of his birth in the eyes of the British literary elite. He attempted to fulfill this mission through his work for Blackwood's Magazine, and one novel, published in England: Brother Jonathan, or the New Englanders. He wrote in his column for Blackwood's about American life and critiqued American authors. After a falling out with the editor of Blackwood's, Neal wrote for several other leading periodicals including the Westminster Review, and as part of a debating society, he met Jeremy Bentham, who invited Neal to live with him in London. After a short trip to Paris, Neal returned to Portland, Maine.

[edit] Life back in Portland

When he returned to Portland in 1827, he was rather ill-received, as some of his writing, perhaps Errata (1823) in particular, was found offensive by many locals. Unbeknown to his denouncers, his return to Portland was planned as merely a visit, but faced with such opposition, he decided to stay. In his autobiography, Wandering Recollections of a Somewhat Busy Life, he writes, “'Verily, verily,' said I, 'if they take that position, here I will stay, till I am both rooted and grounded–grounded in the graveyard, if nowhere else.'”[5] Indeed he spent the rest of his life in Portland, re-establishing his law practice and a short-lived literary periodical called The Yankee. He guided many an author or artist through critique and encouragement, among them Edgar Allan Poe[6], Benjamin Paul Akers[7], and Charles Codman[8]. He maintained a solid physique into old age, which he demonstrated when he nearly threw a stubborn cigar-smoker off a non-smoking street car at the age of 79[9].

[edit] Partial bibliography

  • Keep Cool, 1817
  • Battle of Niagara, 1818
  • Goldau, or, the Maniac Helper, 1818
  • Otho; a Tragedy in Five Acts, 1819
  • Logan, 1822
  • Seventy-six, 1823
  • Randolph, 1823
  • Errata, 1823
  • Brother Jonathan, or the New Englanders, 1825
  • Rachel Dyer, 1828
  • Authorship, a Tale, 1830
  • The Down-Easters, 1833
  • One Word More, 1854
  • True Womanhood. A Tale, 1859
  • Wandering Recollections of a Somewhat Busy Life, 1869
  • Great Mysteries and Little Plagues, 1870
  • Portland Illustrated, 1874

[edit] References

  • Windsor Dagget; A Down-East Yankee From the District of Maine; A.J. Huston, Publisher; 1920
  • Lease, Benjamin (1972). That Wild Fellow John Neal and the American Literary Revolution. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 229. ISBN 0226469697. 
  • Neal, John; Wandering Recollections of a Somewhat Busy Life; Roberts Brothers, Publisher; 1869

[edit] Further reading

  • Goddu, Teresa A (1997). Gothic America: Narrative, History, and Nation. New York: Columbia University Press, 226. ISBN 0231108168. 
  • Nelson, Dana D (1998). National Manhood: Capitalist Citizenship and the Imagined Fraternity of White Men, New Americanists. Durham: Duke University Press, 344. ISBN 0822321300. 

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Martin, Harold C. “The Colloquial Tradition in the Novel: John Neal.” The New England Quarterly 32.4 (1959): 455-475. JSTOR. Langsam Library, Cincinnati, OH. 22 May 2008 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/362501>
  2. ^ Lease, Benjamin (1972). That Wild Fellow John Neal and the American Literary Revolution. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 229. ISBN 0226469697.  p.19
  3. ^ Dagget, Windsor (1920). A Down-East Yankee From the District of Maine. Portland, Maine: A.J. Huston, 80.  p.3
  4. ^ Neal, John (1819). The Battle of Niagara: With Other Poems, Second edition--enlarged, [Baltimore: published by N.B. Maxwell (B. Edes, printer).  p. xxiii
  5. ^ Neal, John. Wandering Recollections of a Somewhat Busy Life Roberts Brothers, 1869. p. 325 Full text avail. on Google Books.
  6. ^ Neal, John. Wandering Recollections of a Somewhat Busy Life Roberts Brothers,1869. p. 256 Full text avail. on Google Books.
  7. ^ Neal, John. Portland Illustrated W.S. Jones, 1874 p.23
  8. ^ Neal, John. Portland Illustrated W.S. Jones, 1874 p. 29
  9. ^ Author Unknown. "Served Him Right." New York Times 19 July 1875: p. 3

[edit] External links

[edit] Selected Works Available online

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