James Osler Bailey (August 12, 1903 – 1979) was a professor of literature who taught at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. He wrote on a wide slate of topics ranging from the works of

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

and

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and utopian literature. Bailey was born at Raleigh, North Carolina, to Thomas Benjamin Bailey, a city employee, and Nancy Priscilla (née Smith). He was educated at the University of North Carolina (A.B. 1924, M.A. 1927, Ph.D 1934) and taught English there from 1930. The

Science Fiction Research Association The Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA), founded in 1970, is the oldest, non-profit professional organization committed to encouraging, facilitating, and rewarding the study of science fiction and fantasy literature, film, and other media. ...

gives recognition in the form of the

Pilgrim Award The Pilgrim Award is presented by the Science Fiction Research Association for Lifetime Achievement in the field of science fiction scholarship. It was created in 1970 and was named after J. O. Bailey’s pioneering book ''Pilgrims Through Space an ...

in honor of his seminal work ''Pilgrims Through Space and Time''. Reviewer

Willy Ley Willy Otto Oskar Ley (October 2, 1906 – June 24, 1969) was a German and American science writer and proponent of space exploration and cryptozoology. The crater Ley on the far side of the Moon is named in his honor. Early life and Berlin y ...

, however, found the volume disappointing; while praising the core of the work, the master's thesis and doctoral dissertation written by Bailey years earlier, he faulted the remainder of the book as inferior, "obviously pasted to the original dissertation both loosely and clumsily." He was struck by a car and died later from a blood clot, in 1979.

Books

*''Supplementary Exercises for Use in English Courses for Engineers: Prepared to Accompany Howell's Handbook of English in Engineering Usage with Cross References to Woolley and Scott's College Handbook of Composition and Greever and Jones' The Century Collection'', Chapman & Hall, (1931) *''Poe's "Stonehenge"'', University Press, (1941) *''Sources for Poe's Arthur Gordon Pym, "Hans Pfaal," and Other Pieces'',

Modern Language Association The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "str ...

of America, (1942) *''Hardy's "Imbedded Fossil"'', North Carolina University, (1945) *''Pilgrims Through Space and Time: Trends and Patterns in Scientific and Utopian Fiction'', (1947) *''The Southern Humanities Conference and Its Constituent Societies'',

University of North Carolina Press The University of North Carolina Press (or UNC Press), founded in 1922, is a not-for-profit university press associated with the University of North Carolina. It was the first university press founded in the southern United States. It is a mem ...

, (1951) *''Proper Words in Proper Places'', (1952) *''Victorian Poetry'', by Edward K. Brown & J. O. Bailey, Ronald Press, (1962) *''British Plays of the Nineteenth Century: An Anthology to Illustrate the Evolution of the Drama'', ed. by J. O. Bailey, (1966) *''The Poetry of

: A Handbook and Commentary'', Chapel Hill, NC:

, (1970) *''Pilgrims Through Space and Time: Trends in Scientific and Utopian Fiction'', with a foreword by Thomas D. Clareson,

Westport, CT Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Located in the Gold Coast along the Long Island Sound, it is northeast of New York City and is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region. Westport's public school syst ...

: Greenwood Press, (1972) *''Thomas Hardy and His Cosmic Mind: A New Reading of the Dynasts'', Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, (1977) *''Symzonia: A Voyage of Discovery'', by Adam Seaborn, a facsimile reproduction with an introduction by J. O. Bailey, n.d.

Library collections

He donated his correspondence with playwright

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

to The Museum of the City of New York. His correspondence with publisher William Terry Crouch and playwright Paul GreenPaul Green Papers Inventory (#3693)
/ref> are at the

library.

Notes

References

External links

Inventory of the Paul Green Papers, 1880-1985
in the

Southern Historical Collection The Southern Historical Collection is a repository of distinct archival collections at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which document the culture and history of the American South. These collections are made up of unique primary mat ...

UNC-Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolling students in 1795 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, J.O. 1903 births 1979 deaths American speculative fiction critics Science fiction critics University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty