Literary Critic

Happy Birthday, Henry Louis Gates, Jr!

Henry Louis Gates

Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr. (born September 16, 1950, in Keyser, West Virginia) is an American literary critic, teacher, historian, filmmaker and public intellectual who currently serves as the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University. He has discovered what are considered the first books by African-American writers, both of them women, and has published extensively on appreciating African-American literature as part of the Western canon.

In addition to producing and hosting previous series on the history and genealogy of prominent American figures, since 2012 Gates has been the host for three seasons of the series Finding Your Roots on PBS. It combines the work of expert researchers in genealogy, history, and genetics historic research to tell guests about their ancestors’ lives and histories.

QUOTES

“The first step toward tolerance is respect, and the first step toward respect is knowledge.”

“Censorship is to art as lynching is to justice.”

“Learning to sing one’s own songs, to trust the particular cadences of own’s voices, is also the goal of any writer.”

 

From Wikipedia and Google.

Happy Birthday, Henry Louis Gates, Jr!

Henry Louis Gates

Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr. (born September 16, 1950, in Keyser, West Virginia) is an American literary critic, teacher, historian, filmmaker and public intellectual who currently serves as the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University. He has discovered what are considered the first books by African-American writers, both of them women, and has published extensively on appreciating African-American literature as part of the Western canon.

In addition to producing and hosting previous series on the history and genealogy of prominent American figures, since 2012 Gates has been the host for three seasons of the series Finding Your Roots on PBS. It combines the work of expert researchers in genealogy, history, and genetics historic research to tell guests about their ancestors’ lives and histories.

QUOTES

“The first step toward tolerance is respect, and the first step toward respect is knowledge.”

“Censorship is to art as lynching is to justice.”

“Learning to sing one’s own songs, to trust the particular cadences of own’s voices, is also the goal of any writer.”

 

From Wikipedia and Google.

Happy Birthday, D.H. Lawrence!

DH Lawrence

D.H.( David Herbert) Lawrence (September 11, 1885-March 2, 1930) was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic, and painter. His collected works represent, among other things, an extended reflection upon the dehumanizing effects of modernity and industrialization.

Lawrence is best known for his novels Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love and Lady Chatterley’s Lover. In these books, Lawrence explores the possibilities for life within an industrial setting. In particular, Lawrence is concerned with the nature of relationships that can be had within such a setting. Though often classed as a realist, Lawrence, in fact, uses his characters to give form to his personal philosophy. His depiction of sexuality, though seen as shocking when his work was first published in the early 20th century, has its roots in this highly personal way of thinking and being.

QUOTES

“I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.”

“Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot.”

“Love is the flower of life, and blossoms unexpectedly and without law, and must be plucked where it is found, and enjoyed for the brief hour of its duration.”

 

From Wikipedia and Google.