Look up -ana in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
-ana (variant: -iana) is a suffix of Latin origin that is used in English to convert nouns, usually proper names into mass nouns, most commonly in order to refer to a collection of things, facts, stories, memorabilia, and anything else, that relate to a specific place, period, person, etc.[1][2]
For instance, Americana is used to refer to things that are distinctive of the US, while Canadiana is for Canada; in literature, Shakespeareana and Dickensiana are similarly used in reference to items or stories related to William Shakespeare or Charles Dickens, respectively.
The suffix -ana, -iana, or -eana have also often been used in the titles of musical works, as a way for a composer to pay tribute to an earlier composer or noted performer.
The suffix has been around since at least the 16th century, typically in book titles, with the first recorded use of -ana being between 1720 and 1730.[3]
The recognition of the usage of -ana or -iana as a self-conscious literary construction, on the other hand, traces back to at least 1740, when it was mentioned in an edition of Scaligerana, a collection of table talk of Joseph Justus Scaliger, from around 150 years previously.[4] By that period, Scaliger was described as "the father, so to speak, of all those books published under the title of -ana."[5]
As grammatical construction, it is the neuter plural, nominative form of an adjective. So, from Scaliger is formed first the adjective Scaligeranus (Scaligeran), which is then put into the form of an abstract noun, Scaligerana (Scaligeran things). In Americana, a variant construction, the adjectival form already exists as Americanus, so it is simply a neuter plural (suffix –a on the stem American-); the case of Victoriana (things associated with the Victorian period) is superficially similar, but the Latin adjective form is Dog Latin[citation needed].
In 1718, Charles Gildon subtitled The Complete Art of Poetry with "Shakespeariana; or the most beautiful topicks, descriptions, and similes that occur throughout all Shakespear's plays."
In 1728, Jonathan Smedley had a work titled Gulliveriana: or a Fourth Volume of Miscellanies, being a sequel of the three volumes published by Pope and Swift, to which is added Alexanderiana, or a comparison between the ecclesiastical and poetical Popes and many things in verse and prose relating to the latter.[7]
In 1842, John Wilson Croker, in reference to Samuel Johnson, published Johnsoniana: or, Supplement to Boswell.
Referring to John Milton, C. A. Moore titled a 1927 paper as "Miltoniana (1679–1741)".[6]
The suffix -iana, -eana or -ana has often been used in the titles of musical works, as a way for a composer to pay tribute to an earlier composer or a noted performer.
| Work | Type of work | Creator | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asturiana (1942) | symphony | María Teresa Prieto | |
| Canadiana Suite (1964) | album | Oscar Peterson | |
| Freudiana | rock-opera album | Eric Woolfson | Woolfon's first solo album, named after pioneer psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. |
| Frostiana (1959) | musical piece | Randall Thompson | The work involves 7 poems of Robert Frost, whom the piece is named after. |
| Kentuckiana: Divertissement On 20 Kentucky Airs, for 2 Pianos, 4 Hands (1948) | composition | Darius Milhaud | |
| Kreisleriana | piano suite | Robert Schumann | The piece is named after the fictional literary character Johannes Kreisler created by E. T. A. Hoffmann. |
| Symphony No. 4 (1952) - originally entitled Sinfonia shakespeariana | symphony | Gösta Nystroem | |
| Vincentiana | symphony | Einojuhani Rautavaara | This piece was named in honour of Vincent van Gogh and reuses some material from Rautavaara's earlier opera on van Gogh, titled Vincent. |
| Gillespiana (1960) | album | Dizzy Gillespie | The album featured compositions by Lalo Schifrin. |
| Glinkaiana, Medtneriana, and Scriabiniana | ballets | These three ballets were staged in the Soviet Union in the early 20th century, set to music by their respective namesakes: Mikhail Glinka, Nikolai Medtner and Alexander Scriabin. |