John Cowie Reid (4 January 1916 – 31 May 1972) was a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

academic. He was a professor of English and founding chairman of the

Mercury Theatre The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman. The company produced theatrical presentations, radio programs and motion pictures. The Mercury also r ...

.'REID, John Cowie', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/1966/reid-john-cowie (accessed 06 Jun 2018)

Biography

John Cowie Reid was born in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

on 4 January 1916. He was educated at Sacred Heart College and

Auckland University College The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loca ...

. After some time spent in various occupations, he became a secondary school teacher at

Auckland Grammar School Auckland Grammar School (often simplified to Auckland Grammar, or Grammar), established in 1869, is a State school, state, Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding secondary school for Single-sex education, boys in Auckland, New Zealand. ...

for short periods before and after the

Second World War 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 ...

. From 1942 to 1946, he served with the New Zealand Military Forces, partly in the Army Education Service. He was active in musical, film, literary, and

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

organisations. In 1952–53 he engaged in research at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

. He was renowned as a superb lecturer, lively, cogent and persuasive. A man of great determination and energy, he was a noted broadcaster and a writer for periodicals. He was the founding chairman of the

. From 1966 until its closure in 1992, the Mercury grew to become

's largest, most prolific professional theatre company. Reid died prematurely, on 31 May 1972, leaving a wife, Joyce, six sons and a daughter.

Principal publications

* ''A Book of New Zealand'' (1979) * ''The Mind and Art of Coventry Patmore'' (1978) * ''The Hidden World of Charles Dickens'' (1977) * ''Bucks and Bruisers: Pierce Egan and Regency England'' (1971) * ''Thomas Hood'' (1963) * ''Francis Thompson, Man and Poet'' (1959) * ''The Mind and Art of Coventry Patmore'' (1957) * ''Creative Writing in New Zealand'' (1946)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, John 1916 births 1972 deaths Academics from Auckland New Zealand academics New Zealand literary critics University of Auckland alumni New Zealand Roman Catholics People educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland New Zealand academics of English literature