SOURCE: “Paul Hamilton Hayne,” in The South in American Literature: 1607‐1900, Duke University Press, 1954, pp. 743‐57.

In the following essay, Hubbell examines Hayne's role in negotiating the literary transition between the Old and New South.

Paul Hamilton Hayne (1830‐1886) is an important literary link between the Old South and the New. He was the intimate friend of Simms, Timrod, Grayson, and John R. Thompson; but, unlike these men, he lived long enough to witness the rise of Lanier, Cable, Harris, and other writers of the younger generation. When Simms died in 1870, Hayne inherited his position as chief literary representative of the South. Few of the younger Southern writers failed to receive from him letters of encouragement and criticism. He also played an important part in the process of reconciliation between Northern and Southern writers. He was the personal friend of Longfellow, Whittier, Edwin P. Whipple, Richard Henry Stoddard, and other Northern...