My First Visit to New England, and Others (from Literary Friends and Acquaintance)

"My First Visit to New England," by William Dean Howells, is a set of stories from the author's real life during the late 1800s and captures his first time traveling to New England, as he thinks about its literature, famous people, and way of life when America's writing scene was booming. Howells paints a clear picture of meeting well-known authors like James Russell Lowell, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. At the beginning, Howells gets ready to head into the center of American literature, sharing both excitement and worry about meeting the famous writers who influenced him. He remembers his early days as a journalist, the lively writing groups in Columbus, and his strong desire to go to New England. As he goes through places like Portland, Salem, and Boston, Howells shows how interested he is in the local traditions, scenery, and, most importantly, the great writers whose work he loves. With humor, he tells stories of meeting these authors, especially how much he admired Lowell and how nervous he was when meeting Hawthorne, showing how important this first visit was to his dreams of becoming a writer. To sum up, the start of the book shows Howells' young enthusiasm and respect for the writing history that came from New England.