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BestsellerE-book
Author Knight, Christopher J., 1952-

Title Uncommon readers : Denis Donoghue, Frank Kermode, George Steiner and the tradition of the common reader / Christopher J. Knight.

Publication Info. Toronto, Ont. : University of Toronto Press, 2003.

Item Status

Description 1 online resource (xiii, 506 pages).
Physical Medium polychrome
Description text file
Series Studies in Book and Print Culture
Studies in book and print culture.
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents Denis Donoghue -- Frank Kermode -- George Steiner.
Summary "Impressive in scope and erudition, Christopher Knight's Uncommon Readers focuses on three critics whose voices - mixing eloquence with pugnacity - stand out as among the most notable independent critics working during the last half-century. The critics are Denis Donoghue, Frank Kermode, and George Steiner, and their independence - a striking characteristic in a time of corporate criticism - is reflective of both their backgrounds (Donoghue's Catholic upbringing in Protestant-ruled Northern Ireland; Kermode's Manx beginnings; and Steiner's Jewish upbringing in pre-Holocaust Europe) and their temperaments. Each represents a party of one, a fact that has, on the one hand, made them the object of the occasional vituperative dismissal and, on the other, contributed to their influence and remarkable longevity." "Since the 1950s, Steiner, Donoghue, and Kermode have each maintained a highly public profile, regularly contributing to such influential publications as Encounter, New Yorker, New York Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement, and the London Review of Books. This aspect of their work receives particular attention in Uncommon Readers, for it illustrates a renewed interest in the role of the public critic, especially in relation to the genre of the literary-review essay, and signals a sustained conversation with an educated public - namely the common reader." "Knight makes the argument for the review essay as a serious and still viable genre, and he examines the three critics in light of this assumption. He expounds upon the critics' separate interests - Kermode's identification with discussions of canonicity, Steiner's with cultural politics, and Donoghue's with the persistent claims of the imagination - while also revealing the ways in which their work often reflects theological interests. Lastly, he attempts to adjudicate some of the conflicts that have arisen between these critics and other literary theorists (especially the post-structuralists), and to discuss the question of whether it is still possible for critics to work independently. Original and deliberative, Uncommon Readers presents a renewed defense of the tradition of the common reader."--Jacket.
Local Note eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America
Subject Donoghue, Denis.
Donoghue, Denis.
Kermode, Frank, 1919-2010.
Kermode, Frank, 1919-2010.
Steiner, George, 1929-2020.
Steiner, George, 1929-2020.
Donoghue, Denis.
Kermode, Frank, 1919-2010.
Steiner, George, 1929-
Kermode, Frank, 1919-
Kermode, Frank.
Steiner, George.
Donoghue, Denis.
Kermode, Frank, 1919-
Steiner, George, 1929-
Donoghue, Denis.
Kermode, Frank.
Steiner, George.
Criticism -- History -- 20th century.
Criticism.
History.
Chronological Term 20th century
Subject Book reviewing -- History -- 20th century.
Book reviewing.
Chronological Term 1900 - 1999
Genre/Form Electronic books.
History.
Electronic books.
Other Form: Print version: Knight, Christopher J., 1952- Uncommon readers. Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 2003 9780802087980 (DLC) 2004299374 (OCoLC)52324150
ISBN 9781442682856 (electronic book)
144268285X (electronic book)
1281994588
9781281994585
0802087981 (bound)
9780802087980