Winesburg Ohio Reading Group on Veeky Forumscord

The Veeky Forums Discord is holding a reading group for Winesburg, Ohio, by Sherwood Anderson, often regarded as one of the foundational texts of American literature. Anderson was credited with being an instrumental mentor to, among others, the likes of Hemingway and Faulkner, Steinbeck, Miller, Wolfe, etc. Wolfe stated Anderson was "the only man in America who ever taught me anything" and Faulkner claims it was Anderson who instilled in him the belief that "being a writer must be a wonderful life," motivating him to write professionally. Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles was modeled directly after Winesburg, Ohio.

The book itself is a collection of short stories that share a setting and a common character, protagonist George Willard, and chronicles his interactions with the inhabitants of the titular small town. The "Grotesques," as the narrator terms the inhabitants of Winesburg, lead lonely and isolated lives that Anderson explores in relation to the world around them, as a microcosm of the small town American experience of the early 20th century. Much like Dubliners, there is considerable debate on the classification of Winesburg, Ohio as a "short story collection," with many instead referring to it as a "short story cycle" or simply a "novel." Hart Crane said "America should read this book on its knees" and H.L. Mencken called it a "book of uncommon merit."

The book, and Anderson himself, was not without controversy however. His illustrious list of disciples more or less all ended up quarreling and breaking with Anderson after their careers were launched. Critics of Winesburg, Ohio focused on the sordid nature and "ugly" nature of what Anderson depicted. Anderson himself led a tumultuous life and his biography is quite interesting - highlights include randomly quitting his run-of-the-mill copyediting job by walking out and suffering a nervous breakdown before deciding to become a writer quite randomly and abandoning his family.

An ebook is pinned in the linked Discord channel.

discord.gg/465umtx

I'm currently making my way through the collection and I enjoy it but it has many flaws. Anderson could have used a editor to clear up his writing and edit down some of the stories. "Godliness", the longest story in the collection didn't deserve to be as long as it is. I understand he wanted demonstrate the generational nature of Winesburg's central themes but by god does it feel way too overblown. It's weighed down by the hamfisted biblical allusions, odd pacing, and uneven characterization. Other stories are like that too in that many of the principal characters serve as a means to an end to get to whatever realization Anderson wants. It's the American and less well done version of Dubliners however much influence it put on the next generation of writers. I do appreciate him incorporating psychology into his writing and the land of the lotus eaters feel he imparts on Winesburg.

this is so precious lol

should I make it my goodreads review

link goodreada

How long is this going to be up for?

Fake reading group. This is not the real polling user.

godliness was fairly weak
also iirc two of the stories are essentially the same

I don't think it deserves to be the longest story. And to be honest, all the stories are essentially the same with a mellow beginning, a subconscious driven "adventure", and a sharp resolution. Individually, some stories are really strong but together the collection isn't great.

the last few stories form a fairly compelling whole.

the two that left the biggest impression on me were the fairground rendezvous (even if its cheap sentimentalism) and that guy who 'works' in a second story office (lawyer?).