regionalism

literature

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July 13, 2026

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Regionalism in literature refers to a movement focused on depicting specific geographic areas and their unique characteristics. In American literature, Midwestern Regionalism, prominent in the late 19th century, realistically portrayed small-town and rural life in the Middle West. Authors like Hamlin Garland captured the hardships of this lifestyle, challenging idealized notions of pioneer life.1

In Latin America, regionalist novels, known as novelas de la tierra, emerged in the 20th century. These works, such as Doña Bárbara and Don Segundo Sombra, explored the struggles of humans against nature in rural settings, often symbolizing broader conflicts like civilization versus barbarism. While regionalism aimed for authentic representation, later literary movements, like magic realism, blended regional elements with fantastical narratives.2

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Brazilian literature
Modernismo and regionalism
…a genre known as the regionalist novel of the Northeast, which emerged during the 1930s when a group of novelists in Brazil’s Northeast dramatized that region’s decline and underdevelopment after the heyday of sugar production. The sociologist Gilberto de Mello Freyre spearheaded this regionalist current and immortalized the social structure…
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…a genre known as the regionalist novel of the Northeast, which emerged during the 1930s when a group of novelists in Brazil’s Northeast dramatized that region’s decline and underdevelopment after the heyday of sugar production. The sociologist Gilberto de Mello Freyre spearheaded this regionalist current and immortalized the social structure…
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Canadian literature
The Montreal School, 1895–1935
…the aesthetes (exotistes) and the regionalists. The aesthetes, among them René Chopin, Marcel Dugas, Paul Morin, and Robert de Roquebrune, had studied in Paris and were fascinated by contemporary French literature and culture. They founded a short-lived artistic magazine, Le Nigog (“The Harpoon”), in 1918, but they remained a tiny…
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…the aesthetes (exotistes) and the regionalists. The aesthetes, among them René Chopin, Marcel Dugas, Paul Morin, and Robert de Roquebrune, had studied in Paris and were fascinated by contemporary French literature and culture. They founded a short-lived artistic magazine, Le Nigog (“The Harpoon”), in 1918, but they remained a tiny…
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Latin American literature
The modern novel
…tierra, or novela criollista (regionalist novels; “novels of local colour”). These novels were widely read and attained some international recognition. The most notable were three by authors who acquired prominent places in Latin American literary history: Don Segundo Sombra (1926; Don Segundo Sombra) by the Argentine Ricardo Güiraldes, Doña…
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…tierra, or novela criollista (regionalist novels; “novels of local colour”). These novels were widely read and attained some international recognition. The most notable were three by authors who acquired prominent places in Latin American literary history: Don Segundo Sombra (1926; Don Segundo Sombra) by the Argentine Ricardo Güiraldes, Doña…
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