Kingsley Widmer (1925–2009) was an American literary critic.
Life and career
Kingsley Widmer was born in Minneapolis on July 17, 1925 and raised in the midwest. He attended the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
and finished his
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
(1949) and
master's
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
(1951) at the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
. Widmer completed his doctorate at the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
in 1957. He was a
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...
humanities intern at
Reed College
Reed College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland, Portland, Oregon, E ...
in Oregon in 1955 and continued there as an instructor until 1956, when he joined the English faculty of
San Diego State College
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...
.
He became a full professor there in 1967.
Widmer was a visiting professor at
UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
(1960–1961),
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...
(1967), the
University of Nice
A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...
(1970),
SUNY Buffalo (1974), the
University of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa (TU) is a Private university, private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Presbyterian Church, although it is now nondenominational, and the campus ...
(1975, 1976, 1978), and taught literature at universities in Minnesota and Washington as well. He lectured on American literature at
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
as a
Fulbright scholar
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...
in 1963–1964.
Works
* ''Literary Censorship'' (1961, Wadsworth, with wife Eleanor Widmer)
* ''The Art of Perversity: D. H. Lawrence's Shorter Fictions'' (1962, University of Washington Press)
* ''Henry Miller: A Critical Study'' (1963, Twayne, revised 1990)
* ''The Literary Rebel'' (1965, Southern Illinois University Press)
* ''The Experience of Freedom: Censorship and the Teacher'' (1966, American Federation of Teachers)
* ''The Ways of Nihilism: A Study of Herman Melville's Short Novels'' (1970, Ward Ritchie)
* ''The End of Culture: Essays on Sensibility in Contemporary Society'' (1975, San Diego State University Press)
* ''Edges of Extremity: Some Problems of Literary Modernism'' (1980, University of Tulsa)
* ''Paul Goodman'' (1980, Twayne)
* ''Nathanael West'' (1982, Twayne)
* ''Counterings: Utopian Dialectics in Contemporary Contexts'' (1988, University of Michigan)
* ''Defiant Desire: Some Dialectical Legacies of D. H. Lawrence'' (1992, Southern Illinois University Press)
Personal life
Widmer married and had two children. He was an infantryman in the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and an anarchist.
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References
Further reading
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External links
Full textsat the
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
1925 births
2009 deaths
Writers from California
American literary critics
San Diego State University faculty
University of Minnesota alumni
University of Washington alumni
Writers from Minneapolis
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