Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Spring 1983
Abstract
Malcolm Cowley's first edition of 'Exile's Return: A Narrative of Ideas' (1934) was an autobiographical narrative which traced Cowley and his friends on their ideological odyssey from bohemianism to Marxism. Cowley's 'Exile's Return: A Literary Odyssey of the 1920s' (1951) was written because Cowley, like other writers of his generation, was embarrassed by his decade of Marxist enthusiasm and, coupled with a national mood increasingly hostile to Communism, he now perceived his view of history in the first book as a literary flaw. However, once that view was judged inaccurate, it was easy for Cowley to convince himself that "self" was more important than "accurate" history, justifying the transformation of the book.
Recommended Citation
Hazlett, John D. “Conversion, Revisionism, and Revision in Malcolm Cowley's Exile's Return.” South Atlantic Quarterly 82 (2) (Spring 1983): 179-188.
Comments
South Atlantic Quarterly, Volume 82, Number 2, Spring 1983. Copyright © 1983 by the Duke University Press.
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