Nicholas Birns is a scholar of literature, including fantasy and Australian literature. As a
Tolkien scholar
The works of J. R. R. Tolkien have generated a body of research covering many aspects of his fantasy writings. These encompass ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Silmarillion'', along with his legendarium that remained unpublished until after ...
he has written on a variety of topics including
The Scouring of the Shire
"The Scouring of the Shire" is the penultimate chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy ''The Lord of the Rings''. The Fellowship hobbits, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin, return home to the Shire to find that it is under the brutal co ...
and Tolkien's biblical sources. His analysis of the writings of
Anthony Powell
Anthony Dymoke Powell ( ; 21 December 1905 – 28 March 2000) was an English novelist best known for his 12-volume work ''A Dance to the Music of Time'', published between 1951 and 1975. It is on the list of longest novels in English.
Powell' ...
and
Roberto Bolaño
Roberto Bolaño Ávalos (; 28 April 1953 – 15 July 2003) was a Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet and essayist. In 1999, Bolaño won the Rómulo Gallegos Prize for his novel ''Los detectives salvajes'' ('' The Savage Detectives ...
has been admired by scholars.
Biography
Nicholas Birns took his BA at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1988.
He took his MA at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
in 1990, and he completed his PhD in 1992, also at New York University.
Birns was a visiting professor at
Western Connecticut State University
Western Connecticut State University (WCSU and WestConn) is a public university in Danbury, Connecticut. It was founded in 1903 as a teacher's college and is part of the Connecticut State University System.
WCSU consists of four schools: the An ...
from 1992 to 1993.
He was a professor at the New School from 1995 to 2014.
He joined
Eugene Lang College
Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, commonly referred to as Lang, is the seminar-style, undergraduate, liberal arts college of The New School. It is located on-campus in Greenwich Village in New York City on West 11th Street off 6th Avenue.
...
in 2005, teaching many different courses in literature.
He taught at the
College of New Rochelle
The College of New Rochelle (CNR) was a private Catholic college with its main campus in New Rochelle, New York, but also in Australia, England, and Germany. It was founded as the College of St. Angela by Mother Irene Gill, OSU of the Ursuline O ...
from 2012.
He is also an adjunct instructor at the
New York University School of Professional Studies
The New York University School of Professional Studies ( also known as SPS ), previously known as the New York University School of Continuing Education, is one of the schools and colleges that compose New York University. Founded in 1934, the s ...
.
He is the editor of ''Antipodes: A Global Journal of Australian/NZ Literature''. He is a noted
Tolkien scholar
The works of J. R. R. Tolkien have generated a body of research covering many aspects of his fantasy writings. These encompass ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Silmarillion'', along with his legendarium that remained unpublished until after ...
, having written on "
The Scouring of the Shire
"The Scouring of the Shire" is the penultimate chapter of J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy ''The Lord of the Rings''. The Fellowship hobbits, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin, return home to the Shire to find that it is under the brutal co ...
", ''
The Children of Hurin'', the wizard
Radagast
Radagast the Brown is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. A wizard and associate of Gandalf, he appears briefly in ''The Hobbit'', ''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Silmarillion'', and ''Unfinished Tales''.
His role in To ...
, Tolkien's biblical sources, and other topics.
Reception
The scholar of English literature
Christine Berberich, reviewing Birns's ''Understanding Anthony Powell'' for ''Modernism/modernity'', described it as "a labor of love" and "a laudable task" undertaken with a "thorough knowledge of the subject matter", though she regretted the lack of discussion of the "influence of fascism on the British upper classes" in the 1930s, and of the holocaust, whereas the lesser-known
Katyn massacre
The Katyn massacre, "Katyń crime"; russian: link=yes, Катынская резня ''Katynskaya reznya'', "Katyn massacre", or russian: link=no, Катынский расстрел, ''Katynsky rasstrel'', "Katyn execution" was a series of m ...
was covered in detail.
The scholar of Spanish and Latin American literature Eduardo Gonzalez wrote that ''Roberto Bolaño as World Literature'' was "the best Bolaño critical ensemble since Bolaño Salvaje (2006)" and had an "exemplary introduction".
The author and scholar of Australian literature
Jean-Francois Vernay wrote of Birns's ''Contemporary Australian literature: A world not yet dead '' that it discussed the writings of Australian authors "within the wider international context, and in terms of the history of ideas". In his view, Birns "manages to think outside the box by applying tenets of neoliberalism to Australian literary studies and one learns much from this book, not least from its valuable discussions of the American reception of Australian fiction."
[Vernay, Jean-Francois (2016). ''Contemporary Australian literature: A world not yet dead'' ]ook Review
Ook, OoK or OOK may refer to:
* Ook Chung (born 1963), Korean-Canadian writer from Quebec
* On-off keying, in radio technology
* Toksook Bay Airport (IATA code OOK), in Alaska
* Ook!, an esoteric programming language based on Brainfuck
* Ook, th ...
''Commonwealth Essays and Studies'', 38(2), 139–140. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.402191128833844
Works
Books
* 2004: ''Understanding Anthony Powell'',
University of South Carolina Press
The University of South Carolina Press is an academic publisher associated with the University of South Carolina. It was founded in 1944.
By the early 1990s, the press had published several surveys of women's writing in the southern United States ...
.
* 2010: ''Theory After Theory: An Intellectual History of Literary Theory from 1950 to the Early Twenty-First Century'',
Broadview Press
Broadview Press is an independent academic publisher that focuses on the humanities. Founded in 1985 by Don LePan, the company now employs over 30 people, has over 800 titles in print, and publishes approximately 40 titles each year. Broadview's o ...
.
* 2013: ''Barbarian Memory: The Legacy of Early Medieval History in Early Modern Literature'',
Palgrave Macmillan
Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains off ...
.
* 2015: ''Contemporary Australian literature: A world not yet dead'',
Sydney University Press
Sydney University Press is the scholarly publisher of the University of Sydney. It is part of the Library.
Sydney University Press was founded as a traditional university press and operated as such from 1962 to 1987. It was re-established in 20 ...
.
* 2017: ''Roberto Bolaño as World Literature'',
Bloomsbury Publishing.
* 2019: ''The Hyperlocal In Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Literary Space'',
Rowman & Littlefield.
* 2021: ''Anthony Trollope: A Companion'' (with John F. Wirenius),
McFarland & Company.
Edited collections
* 2007: ''Companion to Twentieth Century Australian Literature'', with Rebecca McNeer,
Camden House Publishing
Camden House, Inc. was founded in 1979 by professors James Hardin and Gunther Holst with the purpose of publishing scholarly books in the field of German literature, Austrian Literature, and German language culture. Camden House books were publish ...
.
* 2010: ''Reading Across The Pacific: Australian-United States Intellectual Histories'' (with Robert Dixon),
Sydney University Press
Sydney University Press is the scholarly publisher of the University of Sydney. It is part of the Library.
Sydney University Press was founded as a traditional university press and operated as such from 1962 to 1987. It was re-established in 20 ...
.
* 2010: ''Mario Vargas Llosa and Latin American Politics'' (with Juan E. De Castro),
Palgrave Macmillan
Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains off ...
.
* 2011 ''Willa Cather: Critical Insights'', Salem Press.
* 2012: ''Cultural Encounters'', Salem Press.
* 2013: ''The Contemporary Spanish American Novel'' (with Will Corral and Juan E. De Castro),
Bloomsbury Publishing.
* 2017: ''Roberto Bolaño as World Literature'' (with Juan E. De Castro),
Bloomsbury Publishing.
* 2017: ''Options for Teaching Australian and New Zealand Literature'' (with Nicole Moore and Sarah Shieff),
Modern Language Association.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birns, Nicholas
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Tolkien studies
Australian literature
New York University alumni
Columbia College (New York) alumni
The New School faculty
College of New Rochelle faculty
New York University faculty