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D. J. Enright

January 03, 2023

Dennis Joseph Enright OBE FRSL (11 March 1920 – 31 December 2002) was a British academic, poet, novelist and critic.[1] He authored Academic Year (1955), Memoirs of a Mendicant Professor (1969) and a wide range of essays, reviews, anthologies, children's books and poems.[2]

D. J. Enright
BornDenis Joseph Enright
11 March 1920
Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom
Died31 December 2002(2002-12-31) (aged 82)
England, United Kingdom
OccupationAcademic, poet, novelist, critic
LanguageEnglish
GenrePoetry, fiction, essays

Life

Enright was born in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, to Irish postman father George Enright - a former soldier, "obliged in early life to enlist... as the result of the premature death of his father, a Fenian" -[3] and Welsh chapel-goer mother Grace (née Cleaver); he wrote about his "working-class, Black Country upbringing".[4][5] Enright stated in his poem "Anglo-Irish" that his "father claimed to be descended from a king called Brian Boru, an ancient hero of Ireland..." but his "mother said that all Irishmen claimed descent from kings but the truth was they were Catholics."[6] His early life was characterised by poverty, the loss of his father, and relationship with his "overworked mother".[7] He was educated at Leamington College and Downing College, Cambridge. After graduating he held a number of academic posts outside the United Kingdom: in Egypt, Japan, Thailand and notably in Singapore (from 1960). He at times attributed his lack of success in finding a post closer to home to writing for Scrutiny and his short association with F. R. Leavis; whose influence he mainly and early, but not entirely, rejected.

As a poet he was identified with the Movement. His 1955 anthology, Poets of the 1950s, served to delineate the group of British poets in question – albeit somewhat remotely and retrospectively, since he was abroad and it was not as prominent as the Robert Conquest collection New Lines of the following year. Returning to London in 1970, he edited Encounter magazine, with Melvin J. Lasky, for two years. He subsequently worked in publishing.[citation needed]

The "Enright Affair"

Enright gained some notoriety in Singapore after his inaugural lecture at the University of Singapore on 17 November 1960, titled "Robert Graves and the Decline of Modernism". His introductory remarks on the state of culture in Singapore were the subject of a Straits Times article. "'Hands Off' Challenge to 'Culture Vultures'", the next day. Among other things, he stated that it was important for Singapore and Malaya to remain "culturally open", that culture was something to be left for the people to build up, and that for the government to institute "a sarong culture, complete with pantun competitions and so forth" was futile.[citation needed]

Some quotes include:

Art does not begin in a test-tube, it does not take its origin in good sentiments and clean-shaven, upstanding young thoughts.

Leave the people free to make their own mistakes, to suffer and to discover. Authority must leave us to fight even that deadly battle over whether or not to enter a place of entertainment wherein lurks a juke-box, and whether or not to slip a coin into the machine.

The following day, Enright was summoned by the Ministry for Labour and Law regarding his foreigner work permit, and was handed a letter by the Minister for Culture, S. Rajaratnam, which had also been released to the press. The letter admonished Enright for "involv[ing] [himself] in political affairs which are the concern of local people", not "visitors, including mendicant professors", and said that the government "[has] no time for asinine sneers by passing aliens about the futility of 'sarong culture complete with pantun competitions' particularly when it comes from beatnik professors". There was also some criticism that Enright had been insensitive towards Malays and their so-called "sarong culture".

With some mediation from the Academic Staff Association of the university, it was agreed that to put the matter to rest, Enright would write a letter of apology and clarification, the government would reply, and both were to be printed in the newspapers. Although the affair was "essentially dead" after that, according to Enright, it would still be brought up periodically in discussions of local culture and academic freedom. Enright gave his account of the incident in Memoirs of a Mendicant Professor (pp. 124–151).

Timeline

Bibliography

Poetry

Collections

  • The Laughing Hyena and other poems (1953)
  • Bread Rather than Blossoms (1956), poems
  • The Year of the Monkey (1956), poems
  • Some Men Are Brothers (1960), poems
  • Addictions (1962), poems
  • The Old Adam (1965)
  • Selected Poems (1968)
  • Unlawful Assembly (1968)
  • Daughters of Earth (1972), poems
  • Foreign Devils (1972), poems
  • The Terrible Shears – Scenes from a Twenties Childhood (1973)
  • Sad Ires (1975), poems
  • Paradise Illustrated (1978), poems (translated into Dutch by C. Buddingh' in 1982 as Het paradijs in beeld in a bilingual edition)
  • A Faust Book (1979), poems
  • Collected Poems (1981)
  • Collected Poems 1987
  • Selected Poems 1990, Oxford
  • Under the Circumstances: Poems and Prose (1991)
  • Old Men and Comets (1993) poems
  • Collected Poems: 1948–1998 (1998)

Anthologies (edited)

List of poems

Title Year First published Reprinted/collected
A liberal lost 1965 Enright, D. J. (March 1965). "A liberal lost". Meanjin Quarterly. 24 (1): 102. The Old Adam
  • In the Basilica of the Annunciation (1971), broadsheet poem
  • The Rebel (1974), poem
  • Walking in the Harz Mountains, Faust Senses the Presence of God (1979), poem

Novels

  • Academic Year (1955)
  • Heaven Knows Where (1957)
  • Insufficient Poppy (1960)
  • The Joke Shop (1976), novel
  • Wild Ghost Chase (1978), novel
  • Beyond Land's End (1979), novel

Literary criticism, memoirs and general anthologies

  • A Commentary on Goethe's Faust (1949), translated into Polish by Bohdan Zadura:Ksiega Fausta, Wydawnictwo Lubelskie, Lublin 1984.
  • The World of Dew: Aspects of Living Japan (1955)
  • The Apothecary's Shop (1957)
  • Robert Graves and the Decline of Modernism (1960)
  • English Critical Texts 16th Century to 20th Century (1963), editor with Ernst de Chickera
  • Conspirators and Poets (1966)
  • Memoirs of a Mendicant Professor (1969)
  • Shakespeare and the Students (1970)
  • Man is an Onion: Reviews and Essays (1972)
  • Rhyme times rhyme (1974)
  • A Mania for Sentences: Essays on G. Grass, H. Boll, Frisch, Flaubert & Others (1983)
  • Fair of Speech: The Uses of Euphemism (1985), editor
  • Instant Chronicles: A Life (1985)
  • The Oxford Book of Death (1985), editor
  • The Alluring Problem – An Essay on Irony (1986)
  • Fields of Vision: Essays on Literature, Language, and Television (1988)
  • Ill at Ease: Writers on Ailments Real and Imagined (1989), editor
  • The Faber Book of Fevers and Frets (1989), editor
  • Oxford Book of Friendship (1991), editor with David Rawlinson
  • The Way of The Cat (1992)
  • The Oxford Book of the Supernatural (1994), editor
  • Interplay: A Kind of Commonplace Book (1995)
  • Telling Tales (1999)
  • Play Resumed: A Journal
  • Signs and Wonders: Selected Essays (2001)
  • Injury Time (2003)

Notes

  1. ^ Stade, G.; Karbiener, K. (2010). Encyclopedia of British Writers, 1800 to the Present. Facts on File Library of World Literature. Facts on File, Incorporated. p. 159. ISBN 978-1-4381-1689-1. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  2. ^ Blake Morrison (1 January 2003). "DJ Enright". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  3. ^ D. J. Enright- Poet of Humanism, William Walsh, Cambridge University Press, 1974, pp. 1, 104
  4. ^ "Obituary: DJ Enright". TheGuardian.com. January 2003.
  5. ^ Encyclopaedia of British Writers, 1800 to the Present, second edition, vol. 2, 20th Century and Beyond, ed. George Stade, Karen Karbiener, DWJ Books Ltd, 2009, p. 159
  6. ^ D. J. Enright- Poet of Humanism, William Walsh, Cambridge University Press, 1974, p. 104
  7. ^ D. J. Enright- Poet of Humanism, William Walsh, Cambridge University Press, 1974, p. 1

References

  • William Walsh (1974): D. J. Enright: Poet of Humanism, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521203838
  • Jacqueline Simms (editor; 1990). Life By Other Means. Essays on D. J. Enright, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0192129895

External links

  • "D.J. Enright", Fellows Remembered, The Royal Society of Literature
  • D. J. Enright at Library of Congress Authorities, with 77 catalogue records (previous page of browse report mainly, as 'Enright, D. J. (Dennis Joseph), 1920–' without '2002')
  • "D.J. Enright", The Rebel Analysis, (W3train – A Project of Hajvery Institute)

January 03, 2023
enright, dennis, joseph, enright, frsl, march, 1920, december, 2002, british, academic, poet, novelist, critic, authored, academic, year, 1955, memoirs, mendicant, professor, 1969, wide, range, essays, reviews, anthologies, children, books, poems, borndenis, j. Dennis Joseph Enright OBE FRSL 11 March 1920 31 December 2002 was a British academic poet novelist and critic 1 He authored Academic Year 1955 Memoirs of a Mendicant Professor 1969 and a wide range of essays reviews anthologies children s books and poems 2 D J EnrightBornDenis Joseph Enright11 March 1920Royal Leamington Spa Warwickshire England United KingdomDied31 December 2002 2002 12 31 aged 82 England United KingdomOccupationAcademic poet novelist criticLanguageEnglishGenrePoetry fiction essays Contents 1 Life 2 The Enright Affair 3 Timeline 4 Bibliography 4 1 Poetry 4 2 Novels 4 3 Literary criticism memoirs and general anthologies 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksLife EditEnright was born in Royal Leamington Spa Warwickshire to Irish postman father George Enright a former soldier obliged in early life to enlist as the result of the premature death of his father a Fenian 3 and Welsh chapel goer mother Grace nee Cleaver he wrote about his working class Black Country upbringing 4 5 Enright stated in his poem Anglo Irish that his father claimed to be descended from a king called Brian Boru an ancient hero of Ireland but his mother said that all Irishmen claimed descent from kings but the truth was they were Catholics 6 His early life was characterised by poverty the loss of his father and relationship with his overworked mother 7 He was educated at Leamington College and Downing College Cambridge After graduating he held a number of academic posts outside the United Kingdom in Egypt Japan Thailand and notably in Singapore from 1960 He at times attributed his lack of success in finding a post closer to home to writing for Scrutiny and his short association with F R Leavis whose influence he mainly and early but not entirely rejected As a poet he was identified with the Movement His 1955 anthology Poets of the 1950s served to delineate the group of British poets in question albeit somewhat remotely and retrospectively since he was abroad and it was not as prominent as the Robert Conquest collection New Lines of the following year Returning to London in 1970 he edited Encounter magazine with Melvin J Lasky for two years He subsequently worked in publishing citation needed The Enright Affair EditEnright gained some notoriety in Singapore after his inaugural lecture at the University of Singapore on 17 November 1960 titled Robert Graves and the Decline of Modernism His introductory remarks on the state of culture in Singapore were the subject of a Straits Times article Hands Off Challenge to Culture Vultures the next day Among other things he stated that it was important for Singapore and Malaya to remain culturally open that culture was something to be left for the people to build up and that for the government to institute a sarong culture complete with pantun competitions and so forth was futile citation needed Some quotes include Art does not begin in a test tube it does not take its origin in good sentiments and clean shaven upstanding young thoughts Leave the people free to make their own mistakes to suffer and to discover Authority must leave us to fight even that deadly battle over whether or not to enter a place of entertainment wherein lurks a juke box and whether or not to slip a coin into the machine The following day Enright was summoned by the Ministry for Labour and Law regarding his foreigner work permit and was handed a letter by the Minister for Culture S Rajaratnam which had also been released to the press The letter admonished Enright for involv ing himself in political affairs which are the concern of local people not visitors including mendicant professors and said that the government has no time for asinine sneers by passing aliens about the futility of sarong culture complete with pantun competitions particularly when it comes from beatnik professors There was also some criticism that Enright had been insensitive towards Malays and their so called sarong culture With some mediation from the Academic Staff Association of the university it was agreed that to put the matter to rest Enright would write a letter of apology and clarification the government would reply and both were to be printed in the newspapers Although the affair was essentially dead after that according to Enright it would still be brought up periodically in discussions of local culture and academic freedom Enright gave his account of the incident in Memoirs of a Mendicant Professor pp 124 151 Timeline Edit11 March 1920 Born in Warwickshire 1947 50 Lecturer in English University of Alexandria 1950 53 Organising Tutor Extra Mural Department Birmingham University 1953 56 Visiting Professor Konan University Japan 1956 67 Visiting Lecturer Free University of Berlin 1967 69 British Council Professor Chulalongkorn University 1960 70 Professor of English University of Singapore 1970 72 Co Editor Encounter 1974 82 Director Chatto amp Windus 1975 80 Honorary Professor of English University of Warwick 1981 Queen s Gold Medal for Poetry 1991 OBE 31 December 2002 Died in LondonBibliography EditThis list is incomplete you can help by adding missing items January 2021 Poetry Edit Collections The Laughing Hyena and other poems 1953 Bread Rather than Blossoms 1956 poems The Year of the Monkey 1956 poems Some Men Are Brothers 1960 poems Addictions 1962 poems The Old Adam 1965 Selected Poems 1968 Unlawful Assembly 1968 Daughters of Earth 1972 poems Foreign Devils 1972 poems The Terrible Shears Scenes from a Twenties Childhood 1973 Sad Ires 1975 poems Paradise Illustrated 1978 poems translated into Dutch by C Buddingh in 1982 as Het paradijs in beeld in a bilingual edition A Faust Book 1979 poems Collected Poems 1981 Collected Poems 1987 Selected Poems 1990 Oxford Under the Circumstances Poems and Prose 1991 Old Men and Comets 1993 poems Collected Poems 1948 1998 1998 Anthologies edited Poets of the 1950s 1955 The Poetry of Living Japan 1958 editor with Takamichi Ninomiya A Choice of Milton s Verse 1975 editor Penguin Modern Poets 26 1975 with Dannie Abse and Michael Longley The Oxford Book of Contemporary Verse 1945 1980 1980 editorList of poems Title Year First published Reprinted collectedA liberal lost 1965 Enright D J March 1965 A liberal lost Meanjin Quarterly 24 1 102 The Old AdamIn the Basilica of the Annunciation 1971 broadsheet poem The Rebel 1974 poem Walking in the Harz Mountains Faust Senses the Presence of God 1979 poemNovels Edit Academic Year 1955 Heaven Knows Where 1957 Insufficient Poppy 1960 The Joke Shop 1976 novel Wild Ghost Chase 1978 novel Beyond Land s End 1979 novelLiterary criticism memoirs and general anthologies Edit A Commentary on Goethe s Faust 1949 translated into Polish by Bohdan Zadura Ksiega Fausta Wydawnictwo Lubelskie Lublin 1984 The World of Dew Aspects of Living Japan 1955 The Apothecary s Shop 1957 Robert Graves and the Decline of Modernism 1960 English Critical Texts 16th Century to 20th Century 1963 editor with Ernst de Chickera Conspirators and Poets 1966 Memoirs of a Mendicant Professor 1969 Shakespeare and the Students 1970 Man is an Onion Reviews and Essays 1972 Rhyme times rhyme 1974 A Mania for Sentences Essays on G Grass H Boll Frisch Flaubert amp Others 1983 Fair of Speech The Uses of Euphemism 1985 editor Instant Chronicles A Life 1985 The Oxford Book of Death 1985 editor The Alluring Problem An Essay on Irony 1986 Fields of Vision Essays on Literature Language and Television 1988 Ill at Ease Writers on Ailments Real and Imagined 1989 editor The Faber Book of Fevers and Frets 1989 editor Oxford Book of Friendship 1991 editor with David Rawlinson The Way of The Cat 1992 The Oxford Book of the Supernatural 1994 editor Interplay A Kind of Commonplace Book 1995 Telling Tales 1999 Play Resumed A Journal Signs and Wonders Selected Essays 2001 Injury Time 2003 Notes Edit Stade G Karbiener K 2010 Encyclopedia of British Writers 1800 to the Present Facts on File Library of World Literature Facts on File Incorporated p 159 ISBN 978 1 4381 1689 1 Retrieved 27 May 2021 Blake Morrison 1 January 2003 DJ Enright The Guardian Retrieved 12 April 2014 D J Enright Poet of Humanism William Walsh Cambridge University Press 1974 pp 1 104 Obituary DJ Enright TheGuardian com January 2003 Encyclopaedia of British Writers 1800 to the Present second edition vol 2 20th Century and Beyond ed George Stade Karen Karbiener DWJ Books Ltd 2009 p 159 D J Enright Poet of Humanism William Walsh Cambridge University Press 1974 p 104 D J Enright Poet of Humanism William Walsh Cambridge University Press 1974 p 1References EditWilliam Walsh 1974 D J Enright Poet of Humanism Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0521203838 Jacqueline Simms editor 1990 Life By Other Means Essays on D J Enright Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0192129895External links Edit D J Enright Fellows Remembered The Royal Society of Literature D J Enright at Library of Congress Authorities with 77 catalogue records previous page of browse report mainly as Enright D J Dennis Joseph 1920 without 2002 D J Enright The Rebel Analysis W3train A Project of Hajvery Institute Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title D J Enright amp oldid 1115427261, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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