John Carey (critic)
Encyclopedia
John Carey is a British literary critic, and emeritus Merton Professor of English Literature
at the University of Oxford
. He was born in Barnes, London
, and educated at Richmond and East Sheen Boys’ Grammar School, winning an Open Scholarship to St John's College, Oxford
. He served in the East Surrey Regiment
, 1952-4, and was commissioned. After posts in a number of Oxford colleges, he became Merton
Professor in 1975, retiring in 2001.
He is known, amongst other things, for his anti-elitist tone and iconoclastic views on high culture
, as expressed for example in his recent book What Good Are the Arts? (2005).
He has twice chaired the Booker Prize committee, in 1982 and 2004, and chaired the judging panel for the first Man Booker International Prize
in 2005. He is chief book reviewer for the London Sunday Times
and appears in radio and TV programmes such as Saturday Review
and Newsnight Review.
Merton Professors
There are two Merton Professorships of English in the University of Oxford: the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature, and the Merton Professor of English Literature. The second was created in 1914 when Sir Walter Raleigh's chair was renamed...
at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. He was born in Barnes, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and educated at Richmond and East Sheen Boys’ Grammar School, winning an Open Scholarship to St John's College, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
. He served in the East Surrey Regiment
East Surrey Regiment
The East Surrey Regiment was a regiment in the British Army formed in 1881 from the amalgamation of the 31st Regiment of Foot and the 70th Regiment of Foot...
, 1952-4, and was commissioned. After posts in a number of Oxford colleges, he became Merton
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
Professor in 1975, retiring in 2001.
He is known, amongst other things, for his anti-elitist tone and iconoclastic views on high culture
High culture
High culture is a term, now used in a number of different ways in academic discourse, whose most common meaning is the set of cultural products, mainly in the arts, held in the highest esteem by a culture...
, as expressed for example in his recent book What Good Are the Arts? (2005).
He has twice chaired the Booker Prize committee, in 1982 and 2004, and chaired the judging panel for the first Man Booker International Prize
Man Booker International Prize
The Man Booker International Prize is a biennial international literary award given to a living author of any nationality for a body of work published in English or generally available in English translation....
in 2005. He is chief book reviewer for the London Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
and appears in radio and TV programmes such as Saturday Review
Saturday Review (London)
The Saturday Review of politics, literature, science, and art was a London weekly newspaper established by A. J. B. Beresford Hope in 1855....
and Newsnight Review.
Works
- The Poems of John MiltonJohn MiltonJohn Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
(1968) editor with Alastair Fowler - Andrew MarvellAndrew MarvellAndrew Marvell was an English metaphysical poet, Parliamentarian, and the son of a Church of England clergyman . As a metaphysical poet, he is associated with John Donne and George Herbert...
: A Critical Anthology (1969) editor - The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg (1969) editor
- John Milton (1969)
- Complete Shorter Poems of John Milton (1971), revised 2nd edition (1997) editor
- The Violent Effigy. A Study of Dickens’ Imagination (1973) published in America as Here Comes Dickens. The Imagination of a Novelist. Republished in Faber Finds (2008)
- John Milton, Christian Doctrine (1971) translator
- Thackeray: Prodigal Genius (1977) republished in Faber Finds (2008)
- English Renaissance Studies: Presented To Dame Helen Gardner In Honour Of Her Seventieth Birthday (1979)
- John DonneJohn DonneJohn Donne 31 March 1631), English poet, satirist, lawyer, and priest, is now considered the preeminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are notable for their strong and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs,...
: Life, Mind and Art (1981) new revised edition (1990) republished in Faber Finds (2008) - William GoldingWilliam GoldingSir William Gerald Golding was a British novelist, poet, playwright and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, best known for his novel Lord of the Flies...
: The Man and His Books (1986) editor - Faber Book of Reportage (1987) editor. Published in America as Eyewitness to History, Harvard University PressHarvard University PressHarvard University Press is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. In 2005, it published 220 new titles. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. Its current director is William P...
, (1987) - Original Copy : Selected Reviews and Journalism 1969-1986 (1987)
- John Donne. The Major Works (1990) editor, Oxford Authors, reprinted with revisions (2000) World’s Classics
- The Intellectuals and the Masses: Pride and Prejudice among the Literary Intelligentsia, 1880-1939 (1992)
- Short Stories and the Unbearable Bassington by Saki (1994) editor
- Faber Book of Science (1995) editor. Published in America as Eyewitness to Science: Scientists and Writers Illuminate Natural Phenomena from Fossils to Fractals, Harvard University Press, (1997)
- Selected Poetry of John Donne (1998) editor
- Faber Book of Utopias (2000) editor
- Pure Pleasure: a Guide to the Twentieth Century's Most Enjoyable Books (2000)
- George OrwellGeorge OrwellEric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
, Essays (2002) editor - Vanity Fair by William Thackeray (2002) editor
- What Good are the Arts? (2005)
- William Golding: The Man Who Wrote 'Lord of the Flies (2009)
External links
- johncarey.org Official site
- "A Talent for Writing, and Falling Into Things" Dwight GarnerDwight GarnerDwight Eugene Garner is a former American football running back. He played college football at California and had a brief stint as a kick returner for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League during the 1986 season.Garner is best known for his participation in The Play during the...
, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, 6 July 2010