Essays & Reviews
This archive contains examples of the myriad essays and reviews that Neihardt wrote over his long career as a literary book review editor, cultural critic and social observer. Through the “short forms” of the essay and review, Neihardt directly and seriously engaged an amazing array of cultural, historical, social, political, philosophical, aesthetic, spiritual and scientific ideas and debates. Regularly reading and reviewing at the rate of one book per day (occasionally more!), he took on subjects that ranged from ancient civilizations to atomic theory and emergent astrophysics (Einstein, Eddington, Jeans), human nature and psychology (Freud, behaviorism) to evolutionary theories and social Darwinism (Darwin, Wallace, Spencer, Malthus), as well as new technological developments and possibilities (from telegraphs to rocketry).
Collectively, these materials provide new interpretative frameworks and insights into the sophistication and scope of Neihardt’s intellectual interests, aesthetic philosophy, literary work, professional and personal relationships and life itself, the medium in which he most sought to create a grand synthesis of thought and action, the ideal and the real.
By making readily available as many examples of Neihardt’s correspondence, critical essays and reviews as possible, we hope that this archive will provide fresh content and new contexts for past and current scholarly analyses of Neihardt’s life and work. Through these materials, both new readers and those long-devoted to Neihardt’s creative literary works should discover much information previously unknown to them and many surprising interconnections that will enrich their understanding of his many “voices and visions.”
As these collections of letters and essays clearly evidence, whether reading and writing in small-town Nebraska or Missouri, the burgeoning cities of Minneapolis or St. Louis, Neihardt traveled far afield, physically, intellectually and philosophically.
95 documents
- Epileptic RomanceJanuary 18, 1927St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Sterling on JeffersJanuary 22, 1927St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- [?r] and ScientistJanuary 27, 1927St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Literary RefrigerationMarch 1, 1927St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- The Ancient TeachingMarch 2, 1927St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Literature as EnvironmentAugust 15, 1927St. Louis Post Dispatch
- Spiritualistic DoctrineDecember 12, 1927St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Strangeness and ForgetfulnessDecember 16, 1927St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Continuous RevelationDecember 27, 1927St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Smothered in LegendDecember 29, 1927St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Space Felt as Time1928St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Swapping Illusions1928St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Mob-Flattery1928St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- One of Our Best Minds1928St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Morbid ReligiosityFebruary 3, 1928St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- The Lesser HarmoniesFebruary 17, 1928St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Men and InsectsMarch 8, 1928St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- A Trifle BelatedMarch 21, 1928St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- By the Author of "Daedalus"May 1, 1928St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- What Somebody KnowsMay 21, 1928St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- More Light, Less HeatMay 28, 1928St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- World-ViewsJune 9, 1928St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Interesting and ValuableJuly 6, 1928St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Universal GuiltAugust 21, 1928St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- It's All Settled NowAugust 29, 1928St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Not A Single SnickerSeptember 12, 1928St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- A Living Version of DanteOctober 15, 1928St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- How "They" May Be ResistedNovember 8, 1928St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- [?f?]December 26, 1928St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Should There Be Meaning?1929St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Got to be Stopped1929St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- A Book by a SeerJanuary 15, 1929St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Henry Ford's PhilosophyJanuary 15, 1929St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Beautiful TimeApril 9, 1929St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- August and ExquisiteApril 18, 1929St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Wanted — A New EthicsApril 19, 1929St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- A Stendhal Boom?April 22, 1929St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- A Great Religious ConferenceApril 27, 1929St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Hindu Fables for Little ChildrenApril 30, 1929St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Total PerspectiveMay 27, 1929St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- A Modern MaladyJune 19, 1929St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Wholesome SuspicionJuly 3, 1929St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Private SecretaryJuly 17, 1929St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- An American KingFebruary 13, 1931St. Louis Post-Dispatch
- Significant DirectionAugust 25, 1935St. Louis Post-Dispatch