History, Abolition, and the Ever-Present Now in Antebellum American Writing

The Ever-Present Now examines the meaning and possibilities of the present and its relationship to history and historicity in a number of literary texts; specifically, the writings of several figures in antebellum US literary history, some, but not all of whom, associated with the period''s romantic movement. Focusing on nineteenth-century writers who were impatient for social change, like those a...