ABSTRACT
Artistic regionalism, so-called, is like the regionalism of the social scientists in so far as it is a new attempt to meet an old problem. But often the advocates of regionalism and their opponents have become so excited over words that they have forgotten what the real argument is about. Regionalism as an “ism” is only one phase of a general movement of revulsion and affirmation: the selfconscious phase, in which the artist discovers his own discontent and rebels against false guidance. In arguing the Southern case and in exploring the general American situation, the Agrarians themselves had by implication supplied something like a solid foundation to artistic regionalism. The selfconscious revolt of the artist may be considered as symptomatic of something more general, that is everywhere in American society. But any realistic consideration of the American scene was likely to bring home to the serious artist the social issue as well as the artistic issue.
