Document Type
Article
Abstract
This article places current debates concerning the relative merits and dangers of new literary formats in a historical context that illuminates the influence of class and gender biases on assessments of cultural value. Comparing the strength of American women’s reading practices to public outcry over declining literacy and the supposed “death” of the novel, Harrison argues that fiction’s vitality is apparent in the rising popularity of book clubs and audiobooks. These forums and formats remain unheralded by critics and cultural gatekeepers who cherish outdated distinctions between literary and popular reading. Examining the roots of the “brows”—as well as other sources of distinction between high/low, masculine/feminine, and art/entertainment—Harrison claims, will clarify contemporary discussions and allow lovers of literature to appreciate its evolution rather than decry its loss.
Repository Citation
Harrison, K. C.. "Highbrow, Lowbrow, No-brow: Women’s Reading Practices and the Vitality of New-Format Fiction." Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture vol. 11, no. 3, 2011, pp. 1–14. https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/reconstruction/vol11/iss3/7