As much as I flatter myself on my scholarly prowess, there is no way I can cover the subject of recitation in all its various manifestations. It truly is a pervasive cultural practice in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Accordingly, anyone who is interested in exploring recitation and would like to share their knowledge and become a contributor to this blog is greatly welcome. I don’t envision this blog as a monologue but as a forum that brings together people interested in the phenomenon of performative speaking.
If you wish to participate, contact me at jasonaboyd@yahoo.ca.
Greetings — perhaps you’d like a piece on Cora Brown Potter — reciter-turned-actress, whose life is rather a melodrama of its own. She made several world tours with the English actor Kyrle Bellew, whose father was a minister famous for his dramatic recitations. You can read some details in my book “American Women in Gilded Age London” (University Press of Florida, 2006).