LITERARY JOURNALISM STUDIES LITERARY Barry Siegel + Amy Wilentz on America’s only LJ undergraduate program Return address: Literary Journalism Studies School of Journalism Ryerson University Literary Journalism Studies 350 Victoria Street Vol. 12, No. 2, December 2020 Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5B 2K3 In This Issue n Kerrie Davies / Focuses on Miles Franklin’s Unpublished Literary Journalism n Susan Greenberg / Reviews The Routledge Companion to American Literary Journalism n Miles + Roberta Maguire / Survey the Latest Literary Journalism Research n Isabelle Meuret / Interviews Barry Siegel + Amy Wilentz n Melissa Nurczynski / Employs Svetlana Alexievich’s Method in the Classroom VOL. 12, NO.2, DECEMBER 2020 n Juliana Rausch / Links James Agee, Walker Evans, André Breton + Surrealism n Marie Vanoost / Investigates the Transmedia Worlds of Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild Published at the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University 1845 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, United States The Journal of the International Association for Literary Journalism Studies This issue’s front cover was created by LJS designer Anthony DeRado. It is based on the original 1936 poster art for the “Fantastic Art, Dada, and Surrealism” exhibition shown at the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, December 9, 1936–January 17, 1937. Literary Journalism Studies Vol. 12, No. 2, December 2020 Submission Information 4 The Influence of Surrealism on Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by Juliana Rausch 6 From Literary Journalism to Transmedia Worlds: Into the Wild and Beyond by Marie Vanoost 34 Miles Franklin Undercover: Domestic Service and Gonzo Advocacy in Literary Journalism by Kerrie Davies 62 Teaching LJ Svetlana Alexievich and the Polyphonic Translation Model of Literary Journalism by Melissa Nurczynski 84 Research Review Recent Trends and Topics in Literary Journalism Scholarship by Miles Maguire and Roberta S. Maguire 96 Scholar-Practitioner Q+A Isabelle Meuret interviews Barry Siegel and Amy Wilentz 110 Book Reviews 126 The Routledge Companion to American Literary Journalism; At the Crossroads—Nigerian Travel Writing and Literary Culture in Yoruba and English; Three Women; The Undocumented Americans; Rebel Cinderella; American Harvest—God, Country, and Farming in the Heartland Mission Statement 146 International Association for Literary Journalism Studies 147 2 Literary Journalism Studies, Vol. 12, No. 2, December 2020 Copyright © 2020 International Association for Literary Journalism Studies All rights reserved Website: www.literaryjournalismstudies.org Literary Journalism Studies is the journal of the International Association for Literary Journalism Studies and is published twice yearly. For information on subscribing or membership, go to www.ialjs.org. Indexed in Elsevier; Scopus Member of the Council of Learned Journals Published twice a year, June and December issues. Subscriptions, $50/year (individuals), $75/year (libraries). ISSN 1944-897X (paper) ISSN 1944-8988 (online) 3 Literary Journalism Studies Editor Advisory Board Bill Reynolds Robert Alexander, John S. Bak Ryerson University R. Thomas Berner, Myriam Boucharenc Canada Robert S. Boynton, Thomas B. Connery Juan Domingues, David O. Dowling David Eason, Tobias Eberwein Associate Editors Shelley Fisher Fishkin, Leonora Flis William Dow Kathy Roberts Forde, Brian Gabrial American University of Paris Susan Greenberg, Roberto Herrscher France Tim Holmes, Sue Joseph, Beate Josephi Richard Lance Keeble, Jacqueline Marino Miles Maguire Willa McDonald, Jenny McKay Oshkosh, United States Isabelle Meuret, Lindsay Morton Guillaume Pinson Josh Roiland Roberta S. Maguire Norman Sims, Isabel Soares Linda Steiner, Marie-Ève Thérenty University of Wisconsin Alice Donat Trindade, Doug Underwood Oshkosh, United States Julie Wheelwright, Jan Whitt Christopher P. Wilson Marcia R. Prior-Miller Sonja Merljak Zvodc Iowa State University, Ames United States Designer Anthony DeRado Book Review Editor Nancy L. Roberts Web Administrator University at Albany, SUNY Nicholas Jackson United States Editorial Assistant Publisher Claire Dupuis David Abrahamson Northwestern University Founding Editor United States John C. Hartsock Editorial Offices Literary Journalism Studies School of Journalism Ryerson University 350 Victoria Street Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5B 2K3 Email: [email protected] Published at the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University 1845 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, United States 4 Literary Journalism Studies, Vol. 12, No. 2, December 2020 SUBMISSION INFORMATION ITERARY JOURNALISM STUDIES invites submissions of original scholarly L articles on literary journalism, which is also known as narrative journalism, liter- ary reportage, reportage literature, New Journalism, and the nonfiction novel, as well as literary and narrative nonfiction that emphasizes cultural revelation. The journal has an international focus and seeks submissions on the theory, history, and pedagogy of literary journalism throughout the world. All disciplinary approaches are welcome. Submissions should be informed with an awareness of the existing scholarship and should be between 5,000 and 8,000 words in length, including notes. To encourage international dialogue, the journal is open to publishing on occasion short examples or excerpts of previously published literary journalism accompanied by a scholarly gloss about or an interview with the writer who is not widely known outside his or her country. The example or excerpt must be translated into English. The scholarly gloss or interview should generally be between 1,500 and 2,500 words long and in- dicate why the example is important in the context of its national culture. Together, both the text and the gloss generally should not exceed 8,000 words in length. The contributor is responsible for obtaining all copyright permissions, including from the publisher, author, and translator, as necessary. The journal is also willing to consider publication of exclusive excerpts of narrative literary journalism accepted for publica- tion by major publishers. Email submission (as a Microsoft Word attachment) is mandatory. A cover page in- dicating the title of the paper, the author’s name, institutional affiliation, and contact information, along with an abstract (250 words), should accompany all submissions. The cover page should be sent as a separate attachment from the abstract and submis- sion to facilitate distribution to readers. No identification should appear linking the author to the submission or abstract. All submissions must be in English Microsoft Word and follow the Chicago Manual of Style (Humanities endnote and bibliography style) <http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html>. All submis- sions will be blind reviewed. Send submissions to the editor at <literaryjournalismstud- [email protected]>. Copyright reverts to the contributor after publication with the provision that if re- published reference is made to initial publication in Literary Journalism Studies. OOK REVIEWS are invited. They should be 1,000–2,000 words and focus on Bthe scholarship of literary journalism and recent original works of literary jour- nalism that deserve greater recognition among scholars. Book reviews are not blind reviewed but selected by the book review editor based on merit. Reviewers may sug- gest book review prospects or write the book review editor for suggestions. Usually reviewers will be responsible for obtaining their respective books. Book reviews and/ or related queries should be sent to Nancy L. Roberts at <[email protected]> 5 6 Literary Journalism Studies, Vol. 12, No. 2, December 2020 André Breton, father of Surrealism. Image by Henri Manuel, 1927. Wikimedia Commons. Left inset: cover of the first edition, 1941. Right inset: Museum of Modern Art’s Surrealism exhibition poster, 1936. 7 The Influence of Surrealism on Let Us Now Praise Famous Men Juliana Rausch Rowan University, United States Abstract: The experimental nature ofLet Us Now Praise Famous Men has generated debate among scholars regarding its style, structure, and generic classification. The book has been traded among various literary camps: it is an example of the 1930s documentary genre, a work of modernism, and a classic of literary journalism. Offering a rationale for not only James Agee and Walker Evans’s lyrical style but also the book’s complicated reception history, this study suggests that Let Us Now Praise Famous Men is a work of Surrealist art. There is little scholarly work documenting the influence of Surrealism on Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, yet Agee and Evans were inti- mately connected to the movement. This study examines these connections in addition to the presence of Surrealist artistic practices, such as automatic writing and the treatment of found objects as art objects, in the book. The goal of this research is to show that the way in which Agee and Evans per- ceived reality was shaped by Surrealism and thus their collaborative work documenting the lives of tenant farmers necessarily reflects a Surrealist turn of mind. More broadly, this research suggests that by widening the cultural context in which Let Us Now Praise Famous Men is read, new pathways uncovering the importance of literary journalism to multiple facets of U.S. culture, including the visual arts, might be found. Keywords: literary journalism – documentary – surrealism – Let Us Now Praise Famous Men – James Agee – Walker Evans 8 Literary Journalism Studies, Vol. 12, No. 2, December