In May, along with others, I went to hear a lecture by the nonfiction writer Simon Winchester. It was, appropriately, at a branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library—appropriately because the lecture was a distillation of his new book Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge, From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic
Very interesting post, Michael! I met Winchester when he spoke in Tucson about his book "Krakatoa" on a book tour in 2003 or 2004. I knew about him from his book on the Oxford English Dictionary and its most prolific contributor, "The Professor and the Madman" (1998), later made into a movie worth watching, in 2019, though based on a single paragraph in Elisabeth Murray’s "Caught in the Web of Words" (1979). The lecture was sponsored by the Phi Beta Kappa chapter here, when I was President of the group, and faculty members among the dinner guests afterward seemed frankly shocked by the range of his interests. A sociologist wanted to discuss the Troubles in Ireland, which Winchester wrote about in "Bloody Sunday" (1974).
I found myself thinking afterward about the demise of the “man of letters” in the U.S., perhaps more than in other counties—figures like Van Wick Brooks and Edmund Wilson, along with female contemporaries like Mary McCarthy. In our generation, such people all became caught up in academia without managing to save the Liberal Arts. Writing to me in 1978, Frye lamented the "perpetual crisis" in the Liberal Arts.
I have sometimes wondered what his career would have been had he not had the support of people like Pelham Edgar and institutions like Victoria College. Would he have become a novelist of ideas, or would he always have been a cultural critic with a focus on Canada?
I was glad you mentioned Havelock Ellis, who gets overshadowed by Walter Ong and others he influenced. Again, thanks for the good posting.
I love getting your comments, Tom. They are as full of fascinating information as I wish my newsletters to be. Thank you very much for the kind words. I always respect your opinion and take them to heart. Yes, Winchester is a fascinating figure in part because he does NOT come out of academia but out of journalism, which in fact frees him, I think. He touches on his Bloody Sunday reportage in a section of the new book because of the issue of the transmission of knowledge--or not. His point is that his grandmother suffered harrassment because of his reportage--English people believed the outright lies of a task force consisting of one biased British guy who said the English troops did not misbehave. He was hired by the government to lie, and he did so shamelessly. Years later, David Cameron issued a public apology for these lies.
I had no idea The Professor and the Madman was made into a movie! As for public intellectuals, that's why Winchester is fortunate not to come from academia. The idea of a public intellectual was of course anathema to the radical chic theory wars people. The idea was to subvert society, not save it. There was a trahison des clercs that went on in the 1960's-1990's that no one wants to talk about. There's still some of it today in the woke crowd, but diminished. I don't think Norrie had it in him to be a novelist. I do value his cultural criticism, and I suppose it's possible he could have done what Imre Saluszinsky has done, leave academia for cultural journalism. But I think Norrie was too literature-and-religion dependent for that to have really worked. Anyway, thanks for the stimulating response.
Yes, "The Professor and the Madman" is currently available on Netflix. Mel Gibson plays the Oxford professor and Sean Penn the madman, though one might think them both candidates for roles in the asylum. I agree about Winchester's versatility and have asked my university to order a copy of the book.
Mainly, of course, I am glad Norrie had the support of his university and colleges (Vic, Emmanuel, and Massey; Knox too at one point). I think he could have learned the art of novel writing had he tried, which may be to say if financial necessity forced him to it. He was a natural storyteller, as you must know. Many intellectuals who were not born storytellers have learned the art of writing fiction. I think, for example, of the longer-lived Kenneth Burke, who was a true "man of letters," though he taught from time to time though he never earned a college degree.
Very interesting post, Michael! I met Winchester when he spoke in Tucson about his book "Krakatoa" on a book tour in 2003 or 2004. I knew about him from his book on the Oxford English Dictionary and its most prolific contributor, "The Professor and the Madman" (1998), later made into a movie worth watching, in 2019, though based on a single paragraph in Elisabeth Murray’s "Caught in the Web of Words" (1979). The lecture was sponsored by the Phi Beta Kappa chapter here, when I was President of the group, and faculty members among the dinner guests afterward seemed frankly shocked by the range of his interests. A sociologist wanted to discuss the Troubles in Ireland, which Winchester wrote about in "Bloody Sunday" (1974).
I found myself thinking afterward about the demise of the “man of letters” in the U.S., perhaps more than in other counties—figures like Van Wick Brooks and Edmund Wilson, along with female contemporaries like Mary McCarthy. In our generation, such people all became caught up in academia without managing to save the Liberal Arts. Writing to me in 1978, Frye lamented the "perpetual crisis" in the Liberal Arts.
I have sometimes wondered what his career would have been had he not had the support of people like Pelham Edgar and institutions like Victoria College. Would he have become a novelist of ideas, or would he always have been a cultural critic with a focus on Canada?
I was glad you mentioned Havelock Ellis, who gets overshadowed by Walter Ong and others he influenced. Again, thanks for the good posting.
I love getting your comments, Tom. They are as full of fascinating information as I wish my newsletters to be. Thank you very much for the kind words. I always respect your opinion and take them to heart. Yes, Winchester is a fascinating figure in part because he does NOT come out of academia but out of journalism, which in fact frees him, I think. He touches on his Bloody Sunday reportage in a section of the new book because of the issue of the transmission of knowledge--or not. His point is that his grandmother suffered harrassment because of his reportage--English people believed the outright lies of a task force consisting of one biased British guy who said the English troops did not misbehave. He was hired by the government to lie, and he did so shamelessly. Years later, David Cameron issued a public apology for these lies.
I had no idea The Professor and the Madman was made into a movie! As for public intellectuals, that's why Winchester is fortunate not to come from academia. The idea of a public intellectual was of course anathema to the radical chic theory wars people. The idea was to subvert society, not save it. There was a trahison des clercs that went on in the 1960's-1990's that no one wants to talk about. There's still some of it today in the woke crowd, but diminished. I don't think Norrie had it in him to be a novelist. I do value his cultural criticism, and I suppose it's possible he could have done what Imre Saluszinsky has done, leave academia for cultural journalism. But I think Norrie was too literature-and-religion dependent for that to have really worked. Anyway, thanks for the stimulating response.
Yes, "The Professor and the Madman" is currently available on Netflix. Mel Gibson plays the Oxford professor and Sean Penn the madman, though one might think them both candidates for roles in the asylum. I agree about Winchester's versatility and have asked my university to order a copy of the book.
Mainly, of course, I am glad Norrie had the support of his university and colleges (Vic, Emmanuel, and Massey; Knox too at one point). I think he could have learned the art of novel writing had he tried, which may be to say if financial necessity forced him to it. He was a natural storyteller, as you must know. Many intellectuals who were not born storytellers have learned the art of writing fiction. I think, for example, of the longer-lived Kenneth Burke, who was a true "man of letters," though he taught from time to time though he never earned a college degree.
Keep up the good work with your Friday letter.