John Holloway (1 August 1920 – 29 August 1999) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
,
critic and academic. Born in
Croydon
Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...
, South
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
(but then part of
Surrey) and educated at the County School at
Beckenham
Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...
in Kent and the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
(
New College), he served in the
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
and
Intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...
during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
and then pursued an academic career. He was a fellow of
All Souls College, Oxford, from 1946–60 and of
Queens' College, Cambridge, from 1955–82, becoming a Life Fellow on his retirement. He held a post as lecturer in English at
Aberdeen University
, mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
, established =
, type = Public research universityAncient university
, endowment = £58.4 million (2021)
, budget ...
(1949–54), and then moved to the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
, where he was successively Lecturer in English (1954–66),
Reader
A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to:
Computing and technology
* Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader
* Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application
* A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...
(1966-72), and Professor of Modern English (1972–82). He was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Literature in 1956.
Holloway gave the 1958
Chatterton Lecture on Poetry.
[ (See John Skelton.)] From 1961-63 he served as Byron Professor at the
University of Athens
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...
. As Chairman of the Department of English at Cambridge (1970–71), he initiated an important broadening of the undergraduate literature curriculum, in particular to include
American literature. He was married twice, in 1946 to Audrey Gooding with whom he had a son and daughter, and in 1978 to Joan Black. He died in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
.
[
]
Bibliography (incomplete)
*Philosophy
**''Language and Intelligence'' (1951)
**''The Victorian Sage'' (1953)
*Criticism
**''The Charted mirror''
**''The Story of the Night'' (1961)
**''The Colours of Clarity''
**''Widening Horizons in English Verse'' (1966)
**''The Proud Knowledge'' (1977)
**''Narrative and Structure'' (1979)
**''The Slumber of Apollo'' (1983)
*Poetry
**''The Minute and longer poems''
**''The Fugue and shorter pieces''
**''The Landfallers''
**''The Lion Hunt'' (1964)
**''Wood and windfall'' (1967)
**''Oxford Book of Local Verses'' (edited, 1987)
**''Civitatula'' (1993)
*Memoir
**''A London Childhood'' (1966)
References
External links
Obituaries archived by Queens' College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holloway, John
Military personnel from Surrey
English literary critics
1999 deaths
1920 births
Alumni of New College, Oxford
Fellows of Queens' College, Cambridge
Writers from London
20th-century English poets
English male poets
20th-century English male writers
Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature
Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford
English male non-fiction writers
British Army personnel of World War II
Royal Artillery personnel