Project Gutenberg 2016-11-16 Public domain in the USA. 525 Mencken, H. L. (Henry Louis) 1880 1956 Mencken, Henry Louis Hatteras, Owen Mencken, Henry L. Prejudices, first series Criticism of criticism of criticism -- The late Mr. Wells -- Arnold Bennett -- The dean -- Professor Veblen -- The new poetry movement -- The heir of Mark Twain -- Hermann Sudermann -- George Ade -- The Butte Bashkirtseff -- Six members of the Institute: The Boudoir Balzac. A stranger on Parnassus. A merchant of mush. The last of the Victorians. A bad novelist. A Broadway Brandes -- The genealogy of etiquette -- The American Magazine -- The Ulster Polonius -- The unheeded law-giver -- The blushful mystery: Sex hygiene. Art and sex. A loss to romance. Sex on the stage -- George Jean Nathan -- Portrait of an immortal soul -- Jack London -- Among the avatars -- Three American immortals: Aristotelean obsequies. Edgar Allan Poe. Memorial service. E-text prepared by Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) "Prejudices, First Series" by H. L. Mencken is a collection of essays written in the early 20th century. The work critiques various cultural and literary figures, showcasing Mencken's biting wit and critical perspective on American society and its literary landscape. The central themes revolve around the role of the critic, the nature of literature, and the pulse of American thought during a time of significant social change. The opening of the collection begins with a discussion of literary criticism, where Mencken highlights the ongoing debate among critics about the function and purpose of criticism itself. He refers to Major J. E. Spingarn's views on the critic's role, arguing that a critic should focus on understanding an artist's true intentions rather than imposing moral or aesthetic judgments. Mencken critiques the varying schools of thought within literary criticism, illustrating his disdain for those who use rigid standards to evaluate art, and ultimately advocating for a more nuanced and personal interpretation of artistic works. This sets the tone for the pieces that follow, as Mencken continues to explore themes of authenticity, moral pretentiousness, and the essence of American culture through his incisive critiques of both individuals and overarching societal trends. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 58.2 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read. en Literature -- History and criticism American literature -- History and criticism American essays -- 20th century PS Text Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches Category: American Literature 429578 2025-07-21T10:13:41.566591 text/html 399904 2024-10-23T01:24:14 text/html 256355 2025-07-21T10:13:47.909528 application/epub+zip 253727 2025-07-21T10:13:42.729560 application/epub+zip 237984 2025-07-21T10:13:42.159577 application/epub+zip 363201 2025-07-21T10:13:52.042534 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 310759 2025-07-21T10:13:47.343529 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 295682 2022-09-24T10:09:12.557679 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 363949 2025-07-21T10:13:40.798583 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 344043 2024-10-23T01:24:14 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18342 2025-07-21T10:13:52.172493 application/rdf+xml 12608 2025-07-21T10:13:42.252650 image/jpeg 2205 2025-07-21T10:13:42.206537 image/jpeg 210366 2025-07-21T10:13:41.604543 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia