American Literary Centers From "Literature and Life"

Excerpt

One of the facts which we Americans have a difficulty in making clear to a rather inattentive world outside is that, while we have apparently a literature of our own, we have no literary centre.  We have so much literature that from time to time it seems even to us we must have a literary centre.  We say to ourselves, with a good deal of logic, Where there is so much smoke there must be some fire, or at least a fireplace.  But it is just here that, misled by tradition, and even by history, we deceive ourselves.  Really, we have no fireplace for such fire as we have kindled; or, if any one is disposed to deny this, then I say, we have a dozen fireplaces; which is quite as bad, so far as the notion of a literary centre is concerned, if it is not worse.