Edward Mendelson
Encyclopedia
Edward Mendelson is a professor of English and Comparative Literature and the Lionel Trilling Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University
. He is the literary executor
of the Estate of W. H. Auden
and the author or editor of several books about Auden's work, including Early Auden (1981) and Later Auden (1999). He is also the author of a book about nineteenth- and twentieth-century novels, The Things That Matter: What Seven Classic Novels Have to Say About the Stages of Life (2006).
He has edited standard editions of works by W. H. Auden, including Collected Poems (1976; 2nd edn. 1990; 3rd edn., 2007), The English Auden (1977), Selected Poems (1979, 2nd edn., 2007), As I Walked Out One Evening (selected light verse, 1995), and the continuing Complete Works of W. H. Auden (1986– ).
His work on Thomas Pynchon
includes Pynchon: A Collection of Critical Essays (1978) and numerous essays, including "The Sacred, the Profane, and The Crying of Lot 49
(1975; reprinted in the 1978 collection) and "Gravity's Encyclopedia" (in Mindful Pleasures: Essays on Thomas Pynchon, ed. by David Leverenz and George Levine, 1976). The latter essay introduced the critical category of "encyclopedic narrative, further elaborated in a later essay, "Encyclopedic Narrative from Dante to Pynchon" (MLN, vol. 91, 1976).
He is the editor of annotated editions of novels by Thomas Hardy
, George Meredith
, Arnold Bennett
, H. G. Wells
, and Anthony Trollope
. With Michael Seidel he co-edited Homer to Brecht; The European Epic and Dramatic Traditions (1977).
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
.
Before teaching at Columbia, he was an associate professor of English at Yale University
and a visiting associate professor of English at Harvard University
. He received a B.A. from the University of Rochester (1966) and a Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University (1969).
Since 1986 he has written about computing, software, and typography and is a contributing editor of PC Magazine
.
(1998) the character of Professor Mendelkern referred to by Ben Hawks (Rob Morrow
) is based on Mendelson.
In Alexander McCall Smith
's novel The Right Attitude to Rain
(2006), the main character exchanges letters with Mendelson about W.H. Auden and Robert Burns, and he then appears in The Comfort of Saturdays (2007).
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He is the literary executor
Literary executor
A literary executor is a person with decision-making power in respect of a literary estate. According to Wills, Administration and Taxation: a practical guide "A will may appoint different executors to deal with different parts of the estate...
of the Estate of W. H. Auden
W. H. Auden
Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
and the author or editor of several books about Auden's work, including Early Auden (1981) and Later Auden (1999). He is also the author of a book about nineteenth- and twentieth-century novels, The Things That Matter: What Seven Classic Novels Have to Say About the Stages of Life (2006).
He has edited standard editions of works by W. H. Auden, including Collected Poems (1976; 2nd edn. 1990; 3rd edn., 2007), The English Auden (1977), Selected Poems (1979, 2nd edn., 2007), As I Walked Out One Evening (selected light verse, 1995), and the continuing Complete Works of W. H. Auden (1986– ).
His work on Thomas Pynchon
Thomas Pynchon
Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. is an American novelist. For his most praised novel, Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon received the National Book Award, and is regularly cited as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature...
includes Pynchon: A Collection of Critical Essays (1978) and numerous essays, including "The Sacred, the Profane, and The Crying of Lot 49
The Crying of Lot 49
The Crying of Lot 49 is a novel by Thomas Pynchon, first published in 1966. The shortest of Pynchon's novels, it is about a woman, Oedipa Maas, possibly unearthing the centuries-old conflict between two mail distribution companies, Thurn und Taxis and the Trystero...
(1975; reprinted in the 1978 collection) and "Gravity's Encyclopedia" (in Mindful Pleasures: Essays on Thomas Pynchon, ed. by David Leverenz and George Levine, 1976). The latter essay introduced the critical category of "encyclopedic narrative, further elaborated in a later essay, "Encyclopedic Narrative from Dante to Pynchon" (MLN, vol. 91, 1976).
He is the editor of annotated editions of novels by Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
, George Meredith
George Meredith
George Meredith, OM was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era.- Life :Meredith was born in Portsmouth, England, a son and grandson of naval outfitters. His mother died when he was five. At the age of 14 he was sent to a Moravian School in Neuwied, Germany, where he remained for two...
, Arnold Bennett
Arnold Bennett
- Early life :Bennett was born in a modest house in Hanley in the Potteries district of Staffordshire. Hanley is one of a conurbation of six towns which joined together at the beginning of the twentieth century as Stoke-on-Trent. Enoch Bennett, his father, qualified as a solicitor in 1876, and the...
, H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
, and Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
. With Michael Seidel he co-edited Homer to Brecht; The European Epic and Dramatic Traditions (1977).
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
.
Before teaching at Columbia, he was an associate professor of English at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and a visiting associate professor of English at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He received a B.A. from the University of Rochester (1966) and a Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University (1969).
Since 1986 he has written about computing, software, and typography and is a contributing editor of PC Magazine
PC Magazine
PC Magazine is a computer magazine published by Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009...
.
Books
- (as editor) W. H. Auden. Collected Poems. Faber & Faber, 1976; Random House, 1976. Revised edition: Vintage Books, 1991; Faber & Faber, 1991; further revised edition: Modern Library, 2007; Faber & Faber 2007.
- (as co-editor) Homer to Brecht: The European Epic and Dramatic Traditions. Yale University Press, 1977. In collaboration with Michael Seidel.
- (as editor) Pynchon: A Collection of Critical Essays. Prentice‐Hall, 1978.
- (as editor) W. H. Auden. The English Auden: Poems, Essays and Dramatic Writings, 1927–1939. Faber & Faber, 1977; Random House, 1978.
- (as editor) W. H. Auden. Selected Poems: New Edition. Vintage Books, 1978; Faber & Faber, 1978; expanded edition: Vintage Books, 2007.
- Early Auden. Viking, 1981; Faber & Faber, 1981; revised paperback edition: Harvard University Press, 1983; Faber & Faber, 1999; Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2000.
- (as editor) The Complete Works of W. H. Auden (five vols). Princeton University Press, 1986– ; Faber & Faber, 1986– .
- Later Auden. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1999; Faber & Faber, 1999; revised paperback edition: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2000.
- The Things That Matter: What Seven Classic Novels Have To Say About the Stages of Life. Pantheon, 2006; with new afterword, Anchor Books, 2007.
Selected essays
- "The Sacred, the Profane, and The Crying of Lot 49". Individual and Community: Variations on a Theme in American Literature, ed. Kenneth H. Baldwin and David K. Kirby. Duke University Press, 1975; revised version in Pynchon: A Collection of Critical Essays (see above),
- "Gravity's Encyclopedia". Mindful Pleasures: Essays on Thomas Pynchon, ed. George Levine and David Leverenz. Little, Brown, 1976.
- "Encyclopedic Narrative, from Dante to Pynchon". MLN, 91 (December 1976).
- "The Word & the Web". New York Times Book Review, 2 June 1996.
- "Clarissa Dalloway Remembers Cymbeline". Lincoln Center Theater Review, Fall 2007.
- "Auden and God". New York Review of Books, 6 December 2007.
- "New York Everyman". New York Review of Books, 12 June 2008.
- "'What We Love, Not Are'" (on Frank O'Hara) New York Review of Books, 25 September 2008.
- "The Perils of His Magic Circle" (on William Maxwell). New York Review of Books, 29 April 2010.
- "The Obedient Bellow". New York Review of Books, 28 April 2011.
Popular culture
In the film Into My HeartInto My Heart
Into My Heart is a 1998 motion picture featuring Rob Morrow and Claire Forlani. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 9, 1998, the drama documents a love triangle involving a woman and two childhood friends, focusing on the themes of marriage, adultery and betrayal. It was written...
(1998) the character of Professor Mendelkern referred to by Ben Hawks (Rob Morrow
Rob Morrow
Robert Alan "Rob" Morrow is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Don Eppes on Numb3rs and as Dr. Joel Fleischman on Northern Exposure, a role which garnered him three Golden Globes and two Emmy Award nominations for "Best Actor in a Dramatic Series."-Personal life:Morrow was born in...
) is based on Mendelson.
In Alexander McCall Smith
Alexander McCall Smith
Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith, CBE, FRSE, is a Rhodesian-born Scottish writer and Emeritus Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. In the late 20th century, McCall Smith became a respected expert on medical law and bioethics and served on British and international committees...
's novel The Right Attitude to Rain
The Right Attitude to Rain
The Right Attitude to Rain is the third of the Sunday Philosophy Club series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Edinburgh, Scotland, and featuring the protagonist Isabel Dalhousie...
(2006), the main character exchanges letters with Mendelson about W.H. Auden and Robert Burns, and he then appears in The Comfort of Saturdays (2007).
External links
- Mendelson's personal web page at Columbia University
- Interview with Scott Simon, NPR
- Profile in Bookforum, February 2007
- Mendelson author page and archive from The New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of Books is a fortnightly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs. Published in New York City, it takes as its point of departure that the discussion of important books is itself an indispensable literary activity...