Abstract

In 1924, the W. Atlee Burpee & Company® announced a contest calling for letters responding to the prompt, “What Burpee’s Seeds Have Done for Me.” By the deadline, Burpee had received thousands of letters, many written by women. Significant elements of this early twentieth-century contest influenced women’s response. These elements—the historical context, the call for letters, and the act of gardening—converged in a kairotic fashion to form a rhetorical opportunity particularly accessible for women. The contest allowed women to apply familiar rhetorical acts in risky and self-promoting ways to validate their work and publicly identify as successful gardeners.

Journal
Rhetoric Review
Published
2019-10-02
DOI
10.1080/07350198.2019.1655303
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (34) · 5 in this index

  1. 10.1086/337930
  2. 10.1080/14649360802553202
  3. 10.1017/S1060150308080017
  4. Dierks, Konstantin. “The Familiar Letter and Social Refinement in America, 1750– 1800.” Letter Writing as a S…
  5. Peitho
Show all 34 →
  1. Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  2. Rhetoric Review
  3. 10.1007/s10887-013-9097-x
  4. Present Tense
  5. Smithsonian Collections Blog
  6. Rhetoric Review
  7. 10.1257/00028280260344623
  8. College English
  9. Working in the Archives: Practical Research Methods for Rhetoric and Composition
  10. Women and the Material Culture of Needlework and Textiles, 1750-1950
  11. Reclaiming the Rural: Essays on Literacy, Rhetoric, and Pedagogy
  12. Law, Gender, and Injustice: A Legal History of U.S. Women
  13. 10.2307/j.ctt1djmhkj
  14. 10.1080/09699089700200005
  15. 10.1080/14649360600825729
  16. Rhetoric Review
  17. 10.2307/j.ctt5hjt73.5
  18. Huntington Library Quarterly
  19. Motz, Marilyn. Making the American Home: Middle-Class Women & Domestic Material Culture 1840-1940. edited by …
  20. 10.1080/01440350600784719
  21. Peitho
  22. Rich, Adrienne. “When We Dead Awaken: Writing as Re-Vision.” Adrienne Rich’s Poetry and Prose, edited by Barb…
  23. Feminist Rhetorical Practices: New Horizons for Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy Studies
  24. 10.2307/j.ctt20q1z08
  25. National Museum of American History (NMAH) Branch Library Trade Literature Collection
  26. “W. Atlee Burpee & Company Records.” Archives of American Gardens
  27. Smithsonian Digital Volunteers: Transcription Center.” Smithsonian
  28. Burpee Company
  29. Enculturation