Dr. D. Berton Emerson, Sewanee alum and Associate Professor of English at Whitworth
University, will deliver a public lecture titled American Literary Misfits: The Case of
Southwestern Humor, Its Common Men, and Present-Tense Democracy, on Monday 11/18 at
5pm in the Torian Room at the duPont Library.
Drawing from his new book, American Literary Misfits (University of North Carolina Press, 2024), Emerson examines how storied figures like Davy Crockett and Sut Lovingood provide insights into a “democratic play” that continues to shape the nation’s democratic imagination. The talk will delve into the Old Southwestern humor tradition, exploring how its sharp-tongued characters, often sidelined in literary canons, challenge conventional ideas of American democracy. Emerson’s lecture invites the audience to reflect on the broader history of literary
canons, institutional exclusions, and the evolving understanding of democracy in literature. This event is open to the public and will appeal to anyone with interests in literature, history, and democracy and its cultural roots.
This event is made possible, in part, by the generous support of the University Lectures Committee, the Department of English, the American Studies Program, the Politics Department, and the Women’s and Gender Studies.
