Regionalism Definition

Regionalism, also known as local color, is yet another branch of the Realism genre (Campbell). It focuses on the traditions, dialect, characters, geographical features, and general way of life in a certain area (Campbell). Much like Realism and Naturalism, Regionalism also places a lot of focus on being realistic and accurate. In the case of Regionalism, the most important aspect is to accurately depict the setting of a story. This is a way of making sure that an area of the country (because this is American Regionalism) is accurately and fully represented in a realistic fashion.

While Regionalism really is a branch of Realism, it also has certain aspects of Romanticism as well, because there is a more of an idyllic but still realistic quality to the characteristics of the story (Campbell). Many authors today still use Regionalism, but in a less obvious fashion. But often times, it is easy to gather a lot of details about the setting of these stories because of the attention to detail regarding the surroundings. As well as being used in present times, Regionalism was also used quite often in the past. In the South, writers such as James Lane Allen, Kate Chopin, and Joel Chandler Harris used Regionalism (Campbell). Other regions of America have also been represented through Harriett Beecher Stowe in New England and Mark Twain in the West (Campbell).

It is recommended that authors "write what they know". Using Regionalism, authors can write about the places they know with great detail, or write about places that they long to visit with the same details, as long as they learn accurate details beforehand. It is easy for readers to get absorbed in another time or place in a story, especially if it is a place they do not know, and if the author supplies sufficient detail about the area.

Authors can accomplish the technique of Regionalism by simply using dialect and language to establish the setting and its' authenticity, giving very detailed descriptions of details that would usually be deemed insignificant, and by giving the setting of the story a lot of attention and emphasis (Campbell).

Campbell, Donna M. "Regionalism and Local Color Fiction, 1865-1895." Literary Movements. Dept. of English, Washington State University. Web. Feb 10 2011.
http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/lcolor.html