Post, C(harles) W(illiam) (b. Oct. 26,1B54, Springfield. Ill., U.S.—d. May 9,1914, Santa Barbara, Calif.) U.S. manufacturer of breakfast cereals. In the 1880s Post became a patient of John H. Kellogg at a health sanitarium in Battle Creek, Mich., where he became interested in producing healthful foods like those Kellogg served. In 1895 he founded Postum Cereal Co., the precursor to General Foods Corp. His first product, the cereal beverage Postum, was followed by Grape Nuts and Post Toasties.
Post, Emily orig. Emily Price (b. Oct. 27, 1872 or Oct. 3, 1873, Bal¬ timore, Md., U.S.—d. Sept. 25,
1960, New York, N.Y.) U.S. author¬ ity on etiquette. She was educated in private schools in New York City. At the turn of the century her straitened circumstances compelled her to begin writing light fiction and maga¬ zine articles. At her publisher’s sug¬ gestion, she undertook her major work, Etiquette: The Blue Book of Social Usage (originally Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home), in 1922; unlike earlier writers on the subject, she directed her commonsense views to the ordi¬ nary person of moderate means. The book appeared in 10 editions and 90 printings in her lifetime. The out¬ pouring of letters it provoked inspired her newspaper column, which became widely syndicated.
post-and-beam system In
building construction, a system in which two upright members, the posts, hold up a third member, the beam, laid horizontally across their top sur¬ faces. In Britain it is called post-and-lintel system, but in the U.S. “lin¬ tel” is usually reserved for a short beam that spans a window or door opening. The post and beam formed the basis of architecture from pre¬ historic to Roman times, and is illustrated by such ancient structures as
Stonehenge. All structural openings evolved from this system, which is seen in pure form only in colonnades and in framed structures, the posts of doors, windows, ceilings, and roofs usually being hidden in walls. The beam must bear loads that rest on it as well as its own load without deforming or breaking. Post-and-beam construction has largely been sup¬ planted by the modern steel frame.
Post-Impressionism Movement in Western painting that represented both an extension of Impressionism and a rejection of its limitations. The term was coined by Roger Fry for the works of Paul Cezanne, Georges Seurat, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and others. Most of these painters first pursued Impressionism, a style based, in its strictest sense, on the objective recording of nature in terms of the fugitive effects of colour and light. The Post-Impressionists rejected this aim in favour of more ambitious expression, admitting their debt, how¬ ever, to the pure, brilliant colours of Impressionism, its freedom from tra¬ ditional subject matter, and its technique of defining form with short brushstrokes of broken colour. Each painter in the movement pursued unique, personal subject matter and, while sharing stylistic goals with the other Post-Impressionists, had a personal form of expression. For example, Cezanne abandoned the Impressionists’ virtuoso depiction of evanescent light effects in order to pursue his preoccupation with the underlying structures of natural forms and the problem of unifying sur¬ face patterns with spatial depth. Both Gauguin and van Gogh rejected the indifferent objectivity of Impressionism in favour of a more personal, spiritual expression. The Post-Impressionists often exhibited together but, unlike the Impressionists, who were a close-knit and convivial group, they painted mainly alone. In general, Post-Impressionism led away from a naturalistic approach and toward the two major movements of early 20th- century art that followed it: Cubism and Fauvism. See also Neo-Impressionism.
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Psychological reaction occurring after a highly stressful event and typically characterized by flashbacks, recurrent nightmares, and avoidance of reminders of the event; depression and anxiety are often present. Traumatic events that can lead to PTSD include automobile accidents, rape or assault, military combat, tor¬ ture, and such natural disasters as floods, fires, or earthquakes. Long-term effects can include marital and family problems, difficulties at work, and abuse of alcohol and other drugs. Antidepressant medication and psycho¬ therapy, including group therapy, are used in treating the disorder.
postal system System that allows persons to send letters, parcels, or packages to addressees in the same country or abroad. Postal systems are usually government-run and paid for by a combination of user charges and government subsidies. There are early references to postal services in Egypt c. 2000 bc and in Zhou-dynasty China c. 1000 bc. The Roman Empire developed various centralized methods of relaying messages. In the Middle Ages there were no centralized postal services. Private postal systems developed with the rise of nation-states during the Renaissance; subsequently, postal services became government monopolies. Charges based on weight rather than distance and the use of prepaid stamps were first proposed in 1837. The General Postal Union (1875; later Universal Postal Union) improved international mail delivery by allowing member countries to retain the postage they collected on outgoing international mail and requiring them to treat incoming international mail as they did domestic mail. Airmail and automated mail handling were developed in the 20th century. See also e-mail.
poster Eye-catching printed paper announcement or advertisement that is exhibited to promote a product, event, or idea. Posters were popularized by the mid-19th-century invention of lithography, which allowed coloured posters to be produced cheaply and easily. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was noted for his poster art, which often advertised Parisian cabaret performers. Poster art flourished with the rise of the Art Nouveau style, as seen in the work of Alphonse Mucha. During World War I posters were used for recruit¬ ing and propaganda, and the industrial boom of the early 20th century gave rise to advertising posters for every conceivable product and event. The later rise of film and television advertising led to an eclipse in poster art.
postmodernism Any of several artistic movements since about the 1960s that have challenged the philosophy and practices of modern arts or literature. In literature this has amounted to a reaction against an ordered view of the world and therefore against fixed ideas about the form and meaning of texts. In its reaction against Modernist ideals (see Modernism) such as autotelic art and the original masterpiece, postmodern writing and art emphasize devices such as pastiche and parody and the stylized tech-
Emily Post.
BROWN BROTHERS
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postmortem ► Potok I 1535
nique of the antinovel and magic realism. Postmodernism has also led to a proliferation of critical theories, most notably deconstruction and its off¬ shoots, and the breaking down of the distinction between “high” and “low” culture.
postmortem See autopsy
poststructuralism Movement in literary criticism and philosophy begun in France in the late 1960s. Drawing upon the linguistic theories of Ferdinand de Saussure, the anthropology of Claude Levi-Strauss (see struc¬ turalism), and the deconstructionist theories of Jacques Derrida (see decon¬ struction), it held that language is not a transparent medium that connects one directly with a “truth” or “reality” outside it but rather a structure or code, whose parts derive their meaning from their contrast with one another and not from any connection with an outside world. Writers asso¬ ciated with the movement include Roland Barthes, Jacques Lacan, Julia Kristeva, and Michel Foucault.