The American Counterfeit: Authenticity and Identity in American Literature and Culture

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments My ¤rst debt of gratitude goes to Frederick R. Karl. It was in his American literature doctoral seminar at New York University in 1989 where I¤rst heard about the trope of “counterfeiting” (an image that appears in his study American Fictions, 1940–1980). I will remember him always for his generosity and encouragement. I also want to thank the members of the 1994–1995 dissertation study group at NYU organized by Cyrus Patell. There is a host of people at Seton Hall University I need to thank: James Lindroth and Kate McCoy, my ¤rst academic mentors, who taught me how to think about literature; Chrys Grieco, who helped me take the¤rst steps on this path by hiring me as a teaching assistant in the English department so many years ago; Martha Carpentier, friend and colleague , who spent the last four years pushing me in the most loving and collegial way to get the darned book done; John Wargacki, of¤ce mate and fellow Americanist, who listened to my rants and complaints without indulging in any of his own; Frank Korn of the classics department for his prayers and encouragement; and Kristina Dzwonczyk, research assistant extraordinaire. I would like to thank the University Research Council at Seton Hall, which awarded me a summer stipend in 1997 that allowed me to begin the ¤rst round of revisions. My family—immediate, extended, and by marriage—has always supported my work, even when they didn’t quite understand exactly what I was doing or why. My parents, in particular, always encouraged me without judging or asking too many questions: Rosemary McAleer, who had the rare gift of making her children feel as if each was the favorite, and my father, Francis Patrick George Aloysius McAleer, who helped me realize that I come by my interest in lovable counterfeits quite honestly. They are gone but not forgotten. I’d like to thank several people at the University of Alabama Press: both readers of the original manuscript, whose suggestions and comments helped make this a far better piece of scholarship than it otherwise would have been, and Dan Waterman, for seeing the potential in this manuscript and helping me realize it. Angela Jane Weisl has been an inspiration to me, as both a friend and a scholar, since we ¤rst met as new hires at Seton Hall in 1995. I know with certainty that this book would not be here if not for her, and her contributions are obvious throughout. She provided the stick and the carrot, as well as many cups of tea. Finally, I would like to thank my husband, John A. Balkun. He has patiently tolerated the many hours involved in teaching and scholarship , the infringements on personal time, the piles of books everywhere. More than that, however, he has given me the room to grow as a person and as a scholar. His generosity of spirit and his loving support have made everything possible. A previous version of the Whitman chapter appeared as “Whitman’s Specimen Days and the Culture of Authenticity” in the Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 17.2 (Fall 1999): 15–24. xii Acknowledgments The American Counterfeit ...