Alexander Norman "Derry" Jeffares AM (/ˈdʒɛfəz/, 11 August 1920 – 1 June 2005) was an Irish literary scholar.

Early life and education

Jeffares was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, educated at Dublin High School,

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

(where he was elected a Scholar in classics in 1941), and

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

Academic career

Jeffares took up his first academic appointment at the Department of English at the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a Public university#Continental Europe, public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen (city), Groningen in ...

in 1947 and then moved to the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

in 1948. In 1951, at the very early age of 30, he was appointed to the Jury Chair of English at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

where he stayed until taking up the Chair of English at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

in 1957. Finally, he moved to the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built w ...

in 1974. While at Leeds, he was a founder of ''

The Journal of Commonwealth Literature ''The Journal of Commonwealth Literature'' (''JCL'') is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal that covers the field of literature, especially Commonwealth and postcolonial literatures, including colonial discourse and translational studies. ...

''. He retired as Emeritus Professor of English in 1985.

Honours

In 1978 he was made an honorary fellow of Trinity College Dublin. On

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...

1988, Jeffares was appointed an Honorary Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

, "for service to the study of Australian literature overseas". In 2013, an edition of the ''Yeats Annual'' was dedicated to him. Gould, Warwick, ed. ''The Living Stream: Essays in memory of A. Norman Jeffares''. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers, 2013. http://books.openedition.org/obp/1698

References

External links

timesonline.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffares, Norman 1920 births 2005 deaths People from Dublin (city) People educated at The High School, Dublin Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Scholars of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Academic staff of the University of Groningen Academics of the University of Edinburgh University of Adelaide faculty Academics of the University of Leeds Academics of the University of Stirling Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities Honorary Fellows of Trinity College Dublin Honorary Members of the Order of Australia Literary scholars W. B. Yeats scholars