Richard Ellmann and Robert O’Clair
Biography of Richard Ellmann and Robert O’Clair
Richard Ellmann:
Richard Ellmann (1918–1987) was an influential American literary critic and biographer, best known for his comprehensive biographies of major literary figures, particularly James Joyce. His 1959 biography of Joyce remains one of the definitive works on the writer and earned Ellmann the National Book Award. Ellmann also wrote about Oscar Wilde and William Butler Yeats, solidifying his reputation as a leading scholar of 20th-century Irish literature. He was a professor at Oxford University and later at Northwestern University. His contributions to literary criticism and biography have had a lasting impact on the study of modernist literature.
Robert O’Clair:
Robert O’Clair (1931–1994) was an American literary scholar and editor, specializing in modern poetry. He co-edited the Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry alongside Ellmann, which became a cornerstone in the study of 20th-century poetry. O’Clair was a professor of English at various institutions, including Amherst College and the City University of New York. His work as an editor helped shape the way modern poetry was taught in academia, emphasizing not just the canonical poets but also introducing a broader spectrum of voices, including Black, female, and LGBTQ+ poets in later editions of the anthology.
Together, Ellmann and O’Clair were instrumental in curating the Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, making it one of the most respected and widely used collections in the study of poetry.
