cultural studies in the heartland of america

 

In modern times, etching is among the neglected forms of art. One individual from Chicago, however, made this genre his lifework: Earl Howell Reed, Sr., author and painter-etcher, who seems to have almost completely fallen into oblivion today. Why is that the case? What are the reasons for his 'disappearance'? How much was Reed influenced by the Indiana Dunes that inspired so many of his sketches on his frequent trips there? And to what extent has he in particular contributed to the popularity of this area by capturing it in his etchings and working to preserve the Dunes for future generations?

The purpose of this work is to answer these questions and to provide necessary background knowledge about Earl Reed's life, information on the Save the Dunes movement, and the author-artist’s personal ties to the Midwest. In addition, this work details the art of etching with a special focus on Reed's numerous artworks. This also includes analyzing his literary works from a linguistic perspective, as well as finding relationships between his novels und prose and his artworks. Finally, the painter-etcher's life and work is reviewed from a modern-day perspective. An appendix with key terms and a terminology glossary related to etching is included to assist the reader.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 LIFE &WORK OF EARL HOWELL REED, SR.  3

1.1 Purposes and Objectives 3

1.2 Structure  4

2 THE IMPORTANCE OF CULTURAL STUDIES IN THE FIELD OF TRANSLATION 6

2.1 Cultural Studies and Translation 6

2.2 Resources 6

3 THE REED FAMILY TREE AND ITS INFLUENTIAL MEMBERS.8

3.1 Biography: Earl Howell Reed, Sr. 8

3.2 Notable Family Members 11

3.2.1 Elizabeth Armstrong Reed 11

3.2.2 Myrtle Reed 12

3.2.3 Charles Bert Reed 13

3.2.4 Earl Howell Reed, Jr. 14

3.2.5 Reed Family Tree 16

4 THE SAND DUNES OF NORTHERN INDIANA 17

4.1 Historical Background 17

4.2 The Indiana Dunes in Danger  18

4.3 Saving the Dunes: an Unending Campaign?  19

4.4 Preserving the Lakeshore 23

5 EARL HOWELL REED, SR. AND HIS RELATION TO THE DUNES 26

6 ETCHING – THE WORK OF A LIFETIME 29

6.1 The Lost Art  29

6.2 ‘Etching – A Practical Treatise’ 29

6.3 Earl Reed’s Works of Art 34

6.3.1 List of Etchings 35

6.3.2 Classification 37

6.3.3 Critical Acclaim 59

7 WORKS &PROSE 60

7.1 An Inventory of Earl H. Reed’s Books 60

7.1.1 Reed’s Own Works 60

7.1.2 Books Illustrated by Reed  61

7.2 ‘The Dune Country’ 61

7.2.1 Summary  62

7.2.2 Narrative Style 64

7.2.3 Type-Token Analysis 66

8 TRANSLATION AS A SYMBIOSIS BETWEEN TWO ART FORMS  70

8.1 Etching or Writing: Which came first in Reed’s Life?  70

8.2 A Connection between Reed’s Etchings and Writings 72

8.3 Translation and Transmutation  73

9 EARL HOWELL REED FROM A PRESENT-DAY PERSPECTIVE 75

9.1 Stories in ‘The Dune Country’ 75

9.1.1 ‘The Turtles’ 75

9.1.2 ‘Happy Cal’ 76

9.2 Interpretation of ‘The Dune Country’ from a Current Point of View 77

9.3 Potential Readers of Reed’s Literary Works  78

9.4 Chronological Classification  79

10 CONCLUSION 81

11 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF KEY TERMS 84

12 GLOSSARY: ETCHING  91

13 BIBLIOGRAPHY 107

14 APPENDICES  119

14.1 List of Abbreviations  119

14.2 Index of Figures 120

14.3 List of Myrtle Reed’s Books 122

14.4 List of Charles Bert Reed’s Books 123