Special Issue Introduction: New Directions in Quaker Literary History

Abstract: While the study of Quakerism has not been absent from the field of early American literature, scholarship in this area has often been limited to inquiry into a relatively small range of topics, such as spiritual autobiography, antislavery discourse, and women's writing. This special issue seeks to move Quaker literary history in new directions by exploring different authors, genres, and themes that are not usually investigated. This introductory essay discusses the reasons the study of Quakerism in early American literature has often been limited and argues for an expanded understanding of Quaker literary history. Previous approaches to Quaker writing are surveyed, and an overview of the essays in the special issues is given. The study of print culture emerges as a unifying theme across the essays, and this approach is identified as offering continued promise for a more developed understanding of Quaker literary history.