Brooks, Cleanth, 1906-1994

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American scholar and writer; professor of English at Louisiana State University and Yale University.

From the description of Cleanth Brooks letter, 1984 Dec. 21. (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 243464696

Louisiana State University English professor, and co-founder of Southern Review, a literary journal.

From the description of Cleanth Brooks oral history interview, 1992. (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 244443354

Cleanth Brooks is known for his contribution to the "new criticism" and his influence in the teaching of literature in American universities.

From the description of Cleanth Brooks Collection, 1938-1977. (Vanderbilt University Library). WorldCat record id: 228509229

Cleanth Brooks, one of the founders of New Criticism, editor of the Southern Review, professor at Louisiana State University and Yale University, Faulkner scholar, educator, and lecturer, was born in Murray, Kentucky, on October 16, 1906. His major works include American Literature (with Robert Penn Warren and R. W. B. Lewis) (1973), Literary Criticism (with William K. Wimsatt) (1957), and The Well Wrought Urn (1947).

From the description of Cleanth Brooks papers. 1927-1986 (inclusive) 1960-1986 (bulk). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702131684

Cleanth Brooks (1906-1994) was educated at Vanderbilt, Tulane, and Oxford. He was professor of English at Louisiana State University (1932-1947) and professor of English (1947-1960), professor of Rhetoric (1960-1975), and professor emeritus (1975-1994) at Yale University. Brooks is best remembered as one of the pioneers of the "New Criticism" of American literary scholarship.

From the description of Cleanth Brooks papers, 1936-1963. (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 77630905

American author.

From the description of The fugitives and the agrarians: personal recollections and a reassessment, 1985 April 28 [manuscript]. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 647827804

Literary critic, author.

Cleanth Brooks was born in Murray, Kentucky and educated at Vanderbilt University, Tulane University and at Oxford as a Rhodes scholar (1929-1932). A teacher, editor and author, Brooks is noted primarily for his work as a literary critic. The founder and editor of THE SOUTHERN REVIEW, Brooks has collaborated with Robert Penn Warren on several publications. Along with Warren, Brooks is a proponent of the "New Criticism," a modern approach to the study of literature. Brooks is considered an authority on the work of William Faulkner.

From the description of Cleanth Brooks papers, 1954-1966. (University of Kentucky Libraries). WorldCat record id: 16388973

Amercan scholar, critic.

Born in Murray, Ky., in 1906, Brooks graduated from Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in 1928, and received an M.A. from Tulane University in 1929. As a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University (U.K.), he received a B.A. (Honors) in 1931, and a B.A. (Literature) in 1932. He taught in the English department at Louisiana State University until 1947. In 1935, Brooks, Robert Penn Warren, and other scholars and writers, founded Southern Review, an important literary journal which remained in publication until 1942. Brooks served as a Fellow of the Library of Congress (1951-1962), cultural attache at the American Embassy in London (1964-1966), and was awarded Guggenheim Fellowships in 1953 and 1960. From 1947 until 1975 he taught at Yale University. Primarily an essayist and critic, Brooks focused on modern poetry and literature, with special emphasis on William Faulkner. He published several books, had essays included in numerous journals, and along with Robert Penn Warren and other writers, authored textbooks that revolutionized how literature is taught and read in the classroom.

From the description of Cleanth Brooks papers, 1949-1991. (University of Toledo). WorldCat record id: 35785761

Cleanth Brooks, one of the founders of New Criticism, Faulkner scholar, educator, and lecturer, was born in Murray, Kentucky, on October 16, 1906 to the Rev. Cleanth and Bessie Lee Witherspoon Brooks. His father, a Methodist minister, was assigned to parishes primarily in western Tennessee, where Brooks spent most of his early life. Brooks received a classical education at The McTyeire School in McKenzie, Tennessee, and went on to obtain a bachelor's degree in English from Vanderbilt University, where during his freshman year he met his lifelong friend and frequent literary collaborator, Robert Penn Warren, then a senior. While at Vanderbilt, Brooks became keenly interested in literature and poetry. Although the Nashville poets were to discontinue their publication, The Fugitive, soon after he arrived at Vanderbilt, Brooks did get to know them and has remained closely associated with the members of that group throughout his life.

After completing his studies at Vanderbilt, Brooks attended Tulane University and was granted a master's degree in English. He then went to Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, where he received a B. A. (honors) in 1931 and a B. Litt. in 1932; he also became associated with the editing of the correspondence of the eighteenth-century ecclesiastic and literary figure, Thomas Percy, a project with which he would remain intimately involved over the next fifty years.

Upon his return from Oxford in 1932, Brooks was appointed professor of English at Louisiana State University. In 1934 he married Edith Amy Blanchard, known as Tinkum to her friends. Brooks and Robert Penn Warren, who joined the LSU faculty two years after Brooks's arrival, jointly edited The Southern Review from 1935 to 1942. For information documenting Brooks's editorship of this journal, see The Southern Review Collection at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. In 1946 Brooks was named the first occupant of the Read chair of English. Also during his LSU tenure, he began writing (with Robert Penn Warren) the first of many college textbooks for the teaching of literature and poetry.

In 1947 Brooks was appointed professor of English at Yale University, where his courses on Faulkner became legendary. In 1961 he was designated Gray Professor of Rhetoric, from which post he retired in 1975. Throughout his life Brooks has been a prolific lecturer and since retirement has been an active visiting professor. He has received numerous honorary degrees and awards. His major works include American Literature: The Makers and the Making (with Warren and R. W. B. Lewis) (1973), The Hidden God (1963), Literary Criticism (with William K. Wimsatt) (1957), Modern Poetry and the Tradition (1939), A Shaping Joy (1971), Understanding Fiction (with Warren) (1943), Understanding Poetry (with Warren) (1938), The Well Wrought Urn (1947), and four books on Faulkner.

For further biographical information, see The Possibilities of Order: Cleanth Brooks and His Work (1976) by Lewis P. Simpson and Parnassus on the Mississippi: The Southern Review and the Baton Rouge Literary Community, 1935-1942 (1984) by Thomas W. Cutrer.

[Cleanth Brooks died in New Haven on May 10, 1994 - after this biographical sketch was originally written.]

From the guide to the Cleanth Brooks papers., 1927-1986 (inclusive), 1960-1986, (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Brooks, Cleanth, 1906-1994. Typed letter signed Cleanth Brooks to: Mrs. Curran November 11, 1948. Wellesley College
creatorOf Brooks, Cleanth, 1906-1994. Poetry: the method of indirection. A lecture delivered on the thirtieth of January, 1947, at the opening of the Theodore Miles Poetry Room. Wayne State University
creatorOf Brooks, Cleanth, 1906-1994. Autograph letter signed Cleanth Brooks to: Mrs. Curran October 2, 1948. Wellesley College
creatorOf Black, Robert K. (Robert Kerr). Tracy W. McGregor Library scrapbook / 1945-1950. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Walker Percy Papers, circa 1910-1992 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection
referencedIn Falk, Signi Lenea, 1906-1997. Letters [holograph] : 1997 April 18 & May 18, Grinnell, IA [to] Alvin F. Oickle, Everett, MA / Signi Falk. Greenfield Community College, Nahman-Watson Library
creatorOf Stallman, R. W. (Robert Wooster), 1911-1982. Papers of Robert Wooster Stallman [manuscript] 1935-1962. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Beems, Buel Griffith, 1902-1978. Papers of Buel Griffith Beems, 1935-1975. University of Iowa Libraries
creatorOf Tassin, Anthony G. Correspondence with Cleanth Brooks, 1964-1994. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
creatorOf Cleanth Brooks papers., 1927-1986 (inclusive), 1960-1986 Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
creatorOf Brooks, Cleanth, 1906-1994. The fugitives and the agrarians: personal recollections and a reassessment, 1985 April 28 [manuscript]. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Rubin, Louis Decimus, 1923-. Louis Decimus Rubin papers, 1929-1992. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
referencedIn Bradbury, M. mss. II, 1949-1993 Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
referencedIn Collins, Seward, 1899-1952. Seward Collins papers, 1918-1952 (inclusive) 1927-1937 (bulk). Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn Heilman, Robert Bechtold, 1906-2004. Robert Bechtold Heilman papers, 1907-2001. University of Washington. Libraries
referencedIn Harry Roskolenko collection, 1933-1952 Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn George P. Garrett Papers, 1929-2008, (bulk 1960-2000) David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
creatorOf Brooks, Cleanth, 1906-. Cleanth Brooks papers : addition, ca. 1928-1994. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn College Writers' Society of Louisiana. College Writers' Society of Louisiana program, 1962. Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries
creatorOf Brooks, Cleanth, 1906-1994. Cleanth Brooks Collection, 1938-1977. Vanderbilt University Library, Jean and Alexander Heard Library
creatorOf Anderson, Lee, 1896-1972. Papers, 1933-1976 (inclusive), 1948-1972 (bulk). Washington University in St. Louis, .
referencedIn Reynolds Price Papers, bulk, 1927-2010 and undated, 1956-2006 David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
creatorOf Brooks, Cleanth, 1906-1994,. Cleanth Brooks oral history interview, 1992. Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries
referencedIn Scouten, Arthur H. (Arthur Hawley), 1910-1995. Arthur Hawley Scouten collection, 1944-1987. Emory University. Special Collections and Archives
referencedIn James Marshall Osborn correspondence, 1928-1977 Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn Wheeler, Sally Padgett. Sally Padgett Wheeler papers, 1965-1987. Emory University. Special Collections and Archives
referencedIn Erskine, Albert, 1911-1993. Albert Erskine papers, 1930-1999. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Jones, Madison, 1925-. Madison Jones papers, 1950-1989. Emory University. Special Collections and Archives
creatorOf Dos Passos, John, 1896-1970. Papers of John Dos Passos [manuscript], 1896-1970. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Ferris, William R. William R. Ferris collection, 1919s-2003 (names A-G). University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
referencedIn Jacques Barzun Papers, ca.1900-1999. Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library
creatorOf Owsley, Frank Lawrence, 1890-1956. Frank Lawrence Owsley Correspondence, 1913-1959. Vanderbilt University Library, Jean and Alexander Heard Library
referencedIn Robert Bechtold Heilman Papers, 1907-2004, 1928-2004 University of Washington Libraries Special Collections
referencedIn Harry Levin papers Houghton Library
referencedIn Ransom, John Crowe, 1888-1974. Letter to Mrs. F.E. Lund [manuscript], 1968 February 12. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Couch, William T. (William Terry), 1901-1988. William T. Couch papers, 1926-1988. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
referencedIn Furioso papers, 1938-1951 Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn John Hollander Papers, circa 1950-2007 Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn Correspondence of David Nichol Smith, 1932-61 Bodleian Library, Oxford
referencedIn Everett/Edwards, Inc. World literature lectures, Everett/Edwards, Inc, 1973-1977 (inclusive). Yale University Library
creatorOf Brooks, Cleanth, 1906-1994. Cleanth Brooks papers, 1949-1991. University of Toledo, William S. Carlson Library
referencedIn Jerome New Frank papers, 1918-1972 (bulk 1929-1957) Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
referencedIn Robert Lowell papers, 1861-1976 (inclusive) 1935-1970 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Simpson, Lewis P. Lewis P. Simpson papers, 1923-2004 (bulk 1980-2000). Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries
referencedIn Jerome New Frank papers, 1918-1972 (bulk 1929-1957) Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
creatorOf Tassin, Anthony G. Correspondence with Cleanth Brooks, 1964-1994. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
creatorOf Brooks, Cleanth, 1906-1994. Typed letter signed Cleanth Brooks to: Mrs. Curran September 12, 1948. Wellesley College
referencedIn Percy, Walker, 1916-1990. Walker Percy papers, 1910-1992. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
referencedIn O'Donnell, George Marion, 1914-1962. Papers, 1932-1961. Washington University in St. Louis, .
creatorOf Thorpe, Clarence De Witt, 1887-. Literary papers, 1920-1958. University of Michigan
creatorOf Nassar, Eugene Paul. Eugene P. Nassar Correspondence Collection, 1966-1994. Vanderbilt University Library, Jean and Alexander Heard Library
referencedIn William Harmon Papers (#4568), 1939-2000 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection
referencedIn Porter, Katherine Anne, 1890-1980. Papers. University of Maryland (College Park, Md.). Libraries
creatorOf Polk, Noel. Noel Polk editorial papers from the Library of America and Random House editions of the works of William Faulkner [manuscript], 1968-2000. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Waggoner, Hyatt Howe, 1913-1990. Papers, 1934-1988. Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
creatorOf Brooks, Cleanth, 1906-1994. "Poetry in the Age of Anxiety", McGregor Room Seminar by Cleanth Brooks [manuscript] 31 Oct. 1947. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Robert Penn Warren papers, 1906-1989 Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn Foerster, Norman, 1887-1972. Norman Foerster papers, 1907-1965. Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives
referencedIn Carr, Virginia Spencer. Virginia Spencer Carr collection. Emory University. Special Collections and Archives
referencedIn Woodward, C. Vann (Comer Vann), 1908-1999. C. Vann Woodward papers, 1804-2004 (inclusive), 1804-2000 (bulk). Yale University Library
referencedIn Stanford, Donald E., 1913-. Donald Stanford oral history interview, 1992. Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries
creatorOf Porter, Katherine Anne, 1890-1980. Papers. University of Maryland (College Park, Md.). Libraries
referencedIn Seward Collins papers, 1918-1952 (inclusive), 1927-1937 Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn New Orleans Public Library. Jambalaya program records, 1975-1980. New Orleans public library
creatorOf Janis P. Stout papers, 1988-1997, 1988-1997 University of Maryland (College Park, Md.). Libraries
referencedIn Stanford, Donald E. (Donald Elwin), 1913-1998. Donald E. Stanford papers, 1865-1998 (bulk 1941-1998). Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries
referencedIn Feeney, Mark. Mark Feeney papers, 1991. Yale University Library
creatorOf Brooks, Cleanth, 1906-1994. Cleanth Brooks papers, 1954-1966. University of Kentucky Libraries
referencedIn Harvard University Archives Photograph Collection: Portraits, ca. 1852-ca. 2004 Harvard University Archives.
referencedIn New Directions Publishing records Houghton Library
creatorOf Brooks, Cleanth, 1906-1994. Cleanth Brooks papers, 1936-1963. Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries
creatorOf Brooks, Cleanth, 1906-1994. Cleanth Brooks letter, 1984 Dec. 21. Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries
referencedIn Harmon, William, 1938-. William Harmon papers, 1939-2000 (correspondents B). University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
creatorOf Warren, Austin, 1899-1986. Papers, 1922-1986. Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Anderson, Lee, 1896-1972. person
associatedWith Auden, W. H. (Wystan Hugh), 1907-1973. person
associatedWith Barzun, Jacques, 1907- person
associatedWith Beems, Buel Griffith, 1902-1978. person
associatedWith Bishop, Elizabeth, 1911-1979. person
associatedWith Blackmur, R. P(Richard P.), 1904-1965. person
associatedWith Bradbury, Malcolm, 1932-2000 person
associatedWith Carr, Virginia Spencer. person
associatedWith Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 1772-1834. person
associatedWith College Writers' Society of Louisiana. corporateBody
associatedWith Collins, Seward, 1899-1952. person
associatedWith Core, George. person
associatedWith Couch, William T. (William Terry), 1901-1988. person
associatedWith Cowley, Malcolm, 1898-1989. person
associatedWith Curran, Mary Doyle, 1917-1981. person
associatedWith Dean, Pamela, 1946- person
associatedWith Dickey, James. person
associatedWith Dickey, James. person
associatedWith Dos Passos, John, 1896-1970. person
associatedWith Drake, Robert, 1930- person
associatedWith Duchein, Annette Ogden, 1907-1996. person
associatedWith Eliot, T. S. (Thomas Stearns), 1888-1965. person
associatedWith Empson, William, 1906- person
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associatedWith Erskine, Albert, 1911-1993. person
associatedWith Everett/Edwards, Inc. corporateBody
associatedWith Falk, Signi Lenea, 1906-1997. person
associatedWith Faulkner, William, 1897-1962. person
associatedWith Feeney, Mark. person
associatedWith Ferris, William R. person
associatedWith Fletcher, John Gould, 1886-1950. person
associatedWith Foerster, Norman, 1887-1972. person
associatedWith Frank, Jerome, 1889-1957. person
associatedWith Fugitives (Group) corporateBody
correspondedWith Garrett, George P., 1929-2008 person
associatedWith Harmon, William, 1938- person
associatedWith Heilman, Robert Bechtold, 1906- person
associatedWith Heilman, Robert Bechtold, 1906- person
associatedWith Hemingway, Ernest, 1899-1961. person
associatedWith Hollander, John. person
associatedWith Housman, A. E. (Alfred Edward), 1859-1936. person
associatedWith Jackson, Laura (Riding), 1901-1975. person
associatedWith Jarrell, Randall, 1914-1965. person
associatedWith Jarrel, Randall, 1914-1965. person
associatedWith Jones, Madison, 1925- person
associatedWith Kendall, Willmoore, 1909-1967. person
associatedWith Kirby, Thomas Austin. person
associatedWith Levin, Harry, 1912-1994 person
associatedWith Lewis, R. W(Richard Warrington Baldwin) person
associatedWith Library of Congress. corporateBody
associatedWith Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College corporateBody
associatedWith Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, La.). Dept. of English. corporateBody
associatedWith Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, La.). T. Harry Williams Center for Oral History. corporateBody
associatedWith Lowell, Robert, 1917-1977. person
associatedWith Lytle, Andrew Nelson, 1902- person
associatedWith McLuhan, Marshall, 1911- person
associatedWith McLuhan, Marshall, 1911- person
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associatedWith Moore, Marianne, 1887-1972. person
correspondedWith Nassar, Eugene Paul. person
correspondedWith New Directions Publishing Corp. corporateBody
associatedWith New Orleans Public Library. corporateBody
correspondedWith O'Donnell, George Marion, 1914-1962. person
associatedWith Osborn, James Marshall. person
associatedWith Owsley, Frank Lawrence, 1890-1956. person
associatedWith Palmer, John. person
associatedWith Palmer, John. person
associatedWith Percy, Thomas, 1729-1811. person
associatedWith Percy, Walker, 1916-1990. person
associatedWith Phi Beta Kappa. corporateBody
associatedWith Pipkin, Charles W. (Charles Wooten), 1899-1941. person
associatedWith Polk, Noel. person
associatedWith Porter, Katherine Anne person
associatedWith Porter, Katherine Anne, 1890-1980. person
correspondedWith Price, Reynolds, 1933-2011 person
associatedWith Ransom, John Crowe, 1888-1974. person
associatedWith Read, William Alexander, 1869-1962. person
associatedWith Roskolenko, Harry. person
associatedWith Rubin, Louis Decimus, 1923- person
associatedWith Scott, Walter, Sir, 1771-1832. person
associatedWith Scouten, Arthur H. (Arthur Hawley), 1910-1995. person
associatedWith Shapiro, Karl Jay, 1913-2000. person
associatedWith Simpson, Lewis P. person
associatedWith Simpson, Lewis P. person
associatedWith Smith, James Monroe, 1888-1949. person
associatedWith Stallman, R. W. (Robert Wooster), 1911-1982. person
associatedWith Stanford, Donald E. (Donald Elwin), 1913-1998. person
associatedWith Stanley, Eliot H. person
associatedWith Stout, Janis P. person
associatedWith Sullivan, Walter, 1924-2006. person
associatedWith Tassin, Anthony G. person
associatedWith Tate, Allen, 1899-1979. person
associatedWith Thorpe, Clarence De Witt, 1887- person
correspondedWith Vanderbilt University corporateBody
associatedWith Vanderbilt University. English Department. corporateBody
associatedWith Waggoner, Hyatt Howe, 1913-1990. person
associatedWith Warren, Austin, 1899-1986. person
associatedWith Warren, Robert Penn, 1905-1989. person
associatedWith Wayne State University. Libraries. Theodore Miles Modern Poetry Room. corporateBody
associatedWith Welty, Eudora, 1909-2001. person
associatedWith Wheeler, Sally Padgett. person
associatedWith Wilbur, Richard, 1921- person
associatedWith Wilder, Thornton, 1897-1975. person
associatedWith Wimsatt, William K(William Kurtz), 1907-1975. person
associatedWith Woodward, C. Vann (Comer Vann), 1908-1999. person
associatedWith Wordsworth, William, 1770-1850. person
associatedWith Wright, Stuart T. person
associatedWith Yale University. English Department. corporateBody
associatedWith Yeats, W. B. (William Butler), 1865-1939. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Louisiana--Baton Rouge
Southern States
Southern States
Southern states
United States
Southern States
Subject
American literature
American literature
Agrarianism
Agrarians (Group of writers)
Authors, American
Authors, American
American poetry
American poetry
Poets, American
Criticism
Historical criticism (Literature)
Lectures and lecturing
Literary critics, American
Literature
Literature publishing
New Criticism
Poetry
Southern culture
Southern literature
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1906-10-16

Death 1994-05-10

Americans

English

Information

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SNAC ID: 2018587