Wain, John

Wain, John

▪ British critic and writer
born March 14, 1925, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, Eng.
died May 24, 1994, Oxford, Oxfordshire

      English novelist and poet whose early works caused him, by their radical tone, to be spoken of as one of the “Angry Young Men” of the 1950s. He was also a critic and playwright.

      Wain was educated at St. John's College, Oxford, of which he subsequently became a fellow. He was a lecturer in English literature at the University of Reading from 1949 to 1955 and from 1973 to 1978 was professor of poetry at Oxford.

      His poetry includes Mixed Feelings (1951), A Word Carved on a Sill (1956), Weep Before God (1961), Wildtrack (1965), Letters to Five Artists (1969), and Feng (1975). Poems 1949–1979 was published in 1980. His poetry, witty and brittle, has been criticized for its occasionally contrived cleverness.

      Hurry On Down (1953) was Wain's first and, to some critics, best novel. (Other contenders would probably be Strike the Father Dead [1962] and A Winter in the Hills [1970].) It follows the adventures of a university graduate valiantly trying to establish some sort of personal identity in the bewildering and rapidly changing society of postwar Britain. Wain's other novels include Living in the Present (1955), The Contenders (1958), The Young Visitors (1965), The Smaller Sky (1967), and The Pardoner's Tale (1978). His short stories are collected in Nuncle and Other Stories (1960), Death of the Hind Legs (1966), and The Life Guard and Other Stories (1971). Wain wrote a considerable body of literary criticism, including Preliminary Essays (1957), Essays on Literature and Ideas (1963), and The Living World of Shakespeare (1964; rev. ed., 1979). He wrote a biography of Samuel Johnson (1974, with a revised edition in 1980) and an autobiography, Sprightly Running (1962). In 1983 he was made a Companion of the Order of the British Empire.

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  • Wain, John Barrington — ▪ 1995       British writer (b. March 14, 1925, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, England d. May 24, 1994, Oxford, England), was initially identified with the Angry Young Men, a generation of post World War II writers who rejected the traditional… …   Universalium

  • Wain, John Barringon — (1925 1994)    Born in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, he graduated M.A. in 1950 from St. John s College, Oxford. He was a lecturer in English literature at Reading University and professor of poetry at Oxford University; some of his lectures are… …   British and Irish poets

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  • John Barrington Wain — John Wain (John Barrington Wain; * 14. März 1925; † 24. Mai 1994) war ein englischer Dichter, Autor und Kritiker, der Mitglied der Movement Gruppe war. Den Großteil seines Lebens arbeitete er als freier Journalist und Autor und schrieb einige… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • John Wain — noun English writer (1925 1994) • Syn: ↑Wain, ↑John Barrington Wain • Instance Hypernyms: ↑writer, ↑author …   Useful english dictionary

  • John Heath-Stubbs — (1972). Biography He was born in London, and educated at Bembridge School and Queen s College, Oxford. He coedited Eight Oxford Poets in 1941, with Sidney Keyes and Michael Meyer, and helped edit Oxford Poetry in 1942 43. He lived for a time in… …   Wikipedia

  • John Wain — (baptised John Barrington Wain, March 14, 1925 – May 24, 1994) was an English poet, novelist, and critic, associated with the literary group The Movement. For most of his life, Wain worked as a freelance journalist and author, writing and… …   Wikipedia

  • John Wain — John Barrington Wain, né le 14 mars 1925 à Stoke on Trent et mort le 24 mai 1994, est un poète, un romancier et un critique britannique dont les premières œuvres lui ont valu d être rattaché au mouvement des Angry Young Men… …   Wikipédia en Français

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