Winesburg, Ohio: An Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Contexts, Criticism

Set against the backdrop of a fictional 1890s town, Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio depicts the not-so-simple lives of its residents as seen through the eyes of George Willard, a young and observant resident.

The text of this Norton Critical Edition is that of the first book edition, published in 1919, and includes Harald Toksvig’s original map of the fictional Winesburg. Ample annotation is provided throughout.

"Backgrounds" includes five of Anderson’s letters, which illustrate his ideas about the stories; memoirs in which he wrestles with the revision process; and eight reviews of Winesburg, Ohio by Anderson’s contemporaries, among them H. L. Mencken and William Faulkner.

"Criticism" collects six of the most illuminating assessments of the book published in the last three decades. A variety of perspectives is provided by Walter B. Rideout, Sally Adair Rigsbee, John Updike, Joseph Dewey, Kim Townsend, and David Stouck.

A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are included.

Set against the backdrop of a fictional 1890s town, Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio depicts the not-so-simple lives of its residents as seen through the eyes of George Willard, a young and observant resident.

Charles E. Modlin is Professor of English at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where he has taught since 1968. He is the editor of Certain Things Last: The Selected Short Stories of Sherwood Anderson, Sherwood Anderson’s Love Letters to Eleanor Copenhaver Anderson, Sherwood Anderson: Selected Letters, and co-editor of Sherwood Anderson: Centennial Studies. He is co-editor of The Winesburg Eagle (the newsletter of the Sherwood Anderson Society) and author of many articles related to Sherwood Anderson.

Ray Lewis White is Distinguished Professor of English at Illinois State University, where he has taught since 1968. He is the author of Gore Vidal and "Winesburg, Ohio": An Exploration. He has edited many books, including The Achievement of Sherwood Anderson, Sherwood Anderson’s Memoirs, Sherwood Anderson/Gertrude Stein, and Sherwood Anderson’s Secret Love Letters. His articles on various aspects of American literature have been widely published.