H. L. Mencken

A Book of Burlesques

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 - January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians and contemporary movements. His satirical reporting on the Scopes Trial, which he dubbed the "Monkey Trial," also gained him attention. As a scholar, Mencken is known for The American Language, a multi-volume study of how the English language is spoken in the United States. As an admirer of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, he was an outspoken opponent of organized religion, theism, populism, and representative democracy, the latter of which he viewed as systems in which inferior men dominated their superiors. Mencken was a supporter of scientific progress, and was critical of osteopathic and chiropractic medicine. He was also an ardent critic of economics. Mencken opposed the American entry into both World War I and World War II. Some of the terminology in his private diary entries has been described by some researchers as racist and antisemitic, although this characterisation has been disputed. His attitude to African-Americans reflected the conservative paternalism of his era and "the kind of anti-Semitism that appears in Mencken's private diary may be found elsewhere: for example, in the early letters of Eleanor Roosevelt and Adlai Stevenson." He seemed to show a genuine enthusiasm for militarism, though never in its American form. "War is a good thing," he once wrote, "because it is honest, it admits the central fact of human nature ... A nation too long at peace becomes a sort of gigantic old maid." His longtime home in the Union Square neighborhood of West Baltimore was turned into a city museum, the H. L. Mencken House. His papers were distributed among various city and university libraries, with the largest collection held in the Mencken Room at the central branch of Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library. (wikipedia.org)

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bibliotech Press
• Seitenzahl: 142
• Erscheinungstermin: 19. August 2020
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 229mm x 152mm x 9mm
• Gewicht: 242g
• ISBN-13: 9781647999834
• ISBN-10: 1647999839
• Artikelnr.: 61829477

Autorenporträt

H. L. Mencken was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and expert on American English. He lived from September 12, 1880, until January 29, 1956. He made extensive observations about the social scene, literature, music, well-known politicians, and modern movements. He also attracted notice for his parody reporting on the Scopes Trial, which he nicknamed the "Monkey Trial". Mencken is renowned as a scholar for his work on The American Language, a multi-volume examination of American English dialects. He was a vocal opponent of representative democracy, which he saw as a system in which weaker individuals ruled their superiors, and organized religion. He was a fan of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Mencken opposed osteopathy and chiropractic while supporting scientific advancement. He openly criticized economics as well. For six years, Mencken worked as a reporter for the Herald. The newspaper was bought in June 1906, less than two and a half years after the Great Baltimore Fire, by Gen. Felix Agnus, the rival owner, and publisher of The Baltimore American, the town's oldest (since 1773) and largest daily, and Charles H. Grasty, the owner, and editor of The News since 1892.