Talk:Alabama literature

Editing stub (May 2022)

Hi there! I am a university student taking a class on writing in the digital world. I have been assigned this stub, and have been writing it off Wikipedia for quite a few weeks. I will be making some major edits and additions in the next fortnight. If there are any issues or you have any advice, please let me know! CatVallejo (talk) 05:14, 11 May 2022 (UTC)

Hi, CatVallejo - I think you've done a terrific job tackling a huge topic. I do have some questions and suggestions. Out of habit, I leaped in to make some copy editing changes. Here are some other issues.

More citations needed - ranking

In the Lead you identify three novels (and two film adaptations) as some of the most notable works from the state. Although you later have some cites about the influence and popularity of To Kill a Mockingbird, I don't think there is enough justification to rank the other two as so notable. Or, you have to define the criteria by which they are notable: Sales, literary influence, cultural influence? You lack cited sources to support this. From the content and cites, the novel Forrest Gump appeared to have received lackluster reviews, unlike Invisible Man for instance. It had only modest sales before the great popularity of the movie stimulated the novel's becoming a bestseller. Gump is a kind of Zelig character, as had been seen in the 1983 film written and directed by Woody Allen. But the Gump screenplay was not written by Winston Groom, so I wonder about giving him credit for the influence of the movie. Neither it nor the novel are tied much to Alabama. While set in an Alabama small town, I'm not sure about the basis of notability of Fannie Flagg and her novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. There are no literary reviews cited. Yes, it was adapted as a popular film but received fewer awards than Forrest Gump, and there appear to be disagreements among sources as to the extent in the film of the portrayal of the women's lesbian relationship (those who believed it did treat this found it more notable.) There may be Reliable Sources that support the choice of these three.Parkwells (talk) 05:31, 2 June 2022 (UTC)

Similarly, it would be useful if you had a source for identifying your notable works from the antebellum period, that is, for selecting those writers. So much was going on in the development of Alabama in that period, which was a frontier for European Americans and became part of the region of King Cotton, that I thought it would be useful to add some details. (And you may want to add more.) Also it was useful to provide some identification of what the authors were known for. It is likely that most readers are unlikely to know them.Parkwells (talk) 05:31, 2 June 2022 (UTC)

Distinguish Alabama?

While you mention what Alabama writers share with others in the US, it might be useful to identify how/if they distinguish Alabama from other states or regions.Parkwells (talk) 05:31, 2 June 2022 (UTC)

Definition of literature?

Is the definition of a region's literature as you express it in the Lead what is commonly accepted now? Why aren't histories included, not just biographies? In the antebellum section you include an author known as the first historian of the state.Parkwells (talk) 18:05, 8 June 2022 (UTC)

Are films adapted from books considered part of the literature, even if the original author is not involved in the adaptation, and the film's screenplay differs considerably from the book? I thought film was a different genre, although book sales can certainly benefit by adaptations. I thought literature of a place was defined most by those who write it, not necessarily by a work being set there. Do you have any examples among those you discuss of a work of literature (not film) set in Alabama that is not written by a person attached to the state by birth or residence? Just curious.Parkwells (talk) 18:05, 8 June 2022 (UTC)

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