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Bestseller
BestsellerE-book
Author Blevins, Brooks, 1969-

Title Arkansas/Arkansaw : how bear hunters, hillbillies, and good ol' boys defined a state / Brooks Blevins.

Publication Info. Fayetteville : University of Arkansas Press, 2009.

Item Status

Description 1 online resource (x, 242 pages) : illustrations
Physical Medium polychrome
Description text file
Note Not distributed; available at Arkansas State Library.
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary Annotation What do Scott Joplin, John Grisham, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Maya Angelou, Brooks Robinson, Helen Gurley Brown, Johnny Cash, Alan Ladd, and Sonny Boy Williamson have in common? They're all Arkansans. What do hillbillies, rednecks, slow trains, bare feet, moonshine, and double-wides have in common? For many in America these represent Arkansas more than any Arkansas success stories do. In 1931 H.L. Mencken described AR (not AK, folks) as the "apex of moronia." While, in 1942 a Time magazine article said Arkansas had "developed a mass inferiority complex unique in American history."Arkansas/Arkansaw is the first book to explain how Arkansas's image began and how the popular culture stereotypes have been perpetuated and altered through succeeding generations. Brooks Blevins argues that the image has not always been a bad one. He discusses travel accounts, literature, radio programs, movies, and television shows that give a very positive image of the Natural State. From territorial accounts of the Creole inhabitants of the Mississippi River Valley to national derision of the state's triple-wide governor's mansion to Li'l Abner, the Beverly Hillbillies, and Slingblade, Blevins leads readers on an entertaining and insightful tour through more than two centuries of the idea of Arkansas. One discovers along the way how one state becomes simultaneously a punch line and a source of admiration for progressives and social critics alike.
Contents Cover Page; Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication; Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Chapter One: Creating the Bear State; First Interlude: Why Arkansas?; Chapter Two: Aboard the Arkansaw Train; Second Interlude: This Hillbilly State of Mine; Chapter Three: Heyday of the Hillbilly; Third Interlude: Getting Defensive; Chapter Four: All Roads Lead to Bubba; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography.
Local Note eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America
Subject Bear hunting -- Arkansas -- History.
Bear hunting.
Arkansas.
History.
Mountain people -- Arkansas -- History.
Mountain people.
Rednecks -- Arkansas -- History.
Rednecks.
Arkansas -- History.
Arkansas -- Public opinion.
Public opinion.
Arkansas -- Social life and customs.
Manners and customs.
Arkansas -- Biography.
Genre/Form Biographies.
Electronic books.
History.
Biographies.
Other Form: Print version: Blevins, Brooks, 1969- Arkansas/Arkansaw. Fayetteville : University of Arkansas Press, 2009 9781557289056 (DLC) 2009018510 (OCoLC)320953952
ISBN 9781610750424 (electronic book)
161075042X (electronic book)
1557289522 (Trade Paper)
9781557289520 (Trade Paper)
9781557289056 (cloth ; alkaline paper)
1557289050 (cloth ; alkaline paper)
9781557289520