Tag Archives: Literary biography
(1) Ethnic America; (2) Remembering Faulkner
John Higham argues that a comparative study of ethnic identities in America which combines religion, race, and nationality can gauge the nature of ethnic groups more accurately than siloed figures from the U. S. Census. In the second segment [13:45], Joseph Blotner discusses … Continue reading
Posted in Blotner, Joseph L., Episodes, Higham, John
Tagged Ethnicity -- United States, Literary biography, William Faulkner
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Chief Glories: The Life of Samuel Johnson
“The chief glory of every people arises from its authors.” These are words attributed to Samuel Johnson, the English lexicographer and writer (1709-84). Turned upon himself, Johnson’s aphorism–according to Donald Greene and John Vance–reflects a complicated literary life upon which rests a burden … Continue reading
Posted in Episodes, Greene, Donald J., Vance, John A.
Tagged Literary biography, Samuel Johnson
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Proper Study: The Life of Alexander Pope
Literary biographer Maynard Mack characterizes Alexander Pope’s writings as “inspired sanity”–clear, compassionate, and witty. Yet the name of Alexander Pope (1688-1744), English poet and essayist, is not a household word for most Americans today. Who was Alexander Pope? Why is his writing … Continue reading
Posted in Episodes, Mack, Maynard
Tagged Alexander Pope, Literary biography, Poetry
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The Art of Literary Biography, Part 5 of 7: Byron, Greene, and Yeats
Leland Lyons, Leslie Marchand, and Norman Sherry discuss their research and writing practices and the issues they encounter as biographers of W. B. Yeats, Lord Byron (George Gordon), and Graham Greene, respectively. The scholars address the distinction between literary criticism and … Continue reading
Posted in Episodes, Lyons, F. S. L., Marchand, Leslie Alexis, Sherry, Norman
Tagged George Gordon Lord Byron, Graham Greene, Literary biography, Literary Criticism, New Criticism, William Butler Yeats
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The Art of Literary Biography, Part 4 of 7: Robert Louis Stevenson
Roger Swearingen discusses the life and work of Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) and recounts the circumstances of his discovery of Stevenson’s first published work of fiction, the previously unknown story “An Old Song.” Swearingen highlights the diversity of Stevenson’s work, … Continue reading
Posted in Episodes, Swearingen, Roger G.
Tagged Literary biography, Literary Criticism, Robert Louis Stevenson
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(1) The Art of Literary Biography, Part 3 of 7: Tennyson; (2) Commentary on the Work-Life Relationship
Robert Martin discusses the craft of biography and the life and work of the British poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892). Martin is the author of Tennyson: The Unquiet Heart. In the second segment [23:56], Robert Gingher, an editorial writer and book critic in Greensboro, … Continue reading
Posted in Episodes, Gingher, Robert, Martin, Robert B.
Tagged Alfred Lord Tennyson, Literary biography, Literary Criticism
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The Art of Literary Biography, Part 2 of 7: Byron
Leslie Marchand and Hermione de Almeida discuss the life and poetry of Lord Byron (George Gordon). Aspects include his congenital clubfoot; revolutionary movements in Italy and Greece and Byron’s political identity as a radical aristocratic reformer with humanitarian instincts; and his satirical leanings … Continue reading
Posted in De Almeida, Hermione, Episodes, Marchand, Leslie Alexis
Tagged George Gordon Lord Byron, Literary biography, Literary Criticism, Romanticism
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The Art of Literary Biography, Part 1 of 7: Byron
Jerome McGann discusses the life and writings of British poet Lord Byron (George Gordon), who refused to write for money and characterized his poetry as the lava of the imagination. McGann notes Byron’s attraction to lost causes and cites his … Continue reading
Posted in Episodes, McGann, Jerome J.
Tagged George Gordon Lord Byron, Literary biography, Literary Criticism, Poetry
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