{"id":4540,"date":"2009-10-26T13:34:56","date_gmt":"2009-10-26T17:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fryeblog.blog.lib.mcmaster.ca\/?p=4540"},"modified":"2009-10-26T13:34:56","modified_gmt":"2009-10-26T17:34:56","slug":"a-first-rate-scholar-in-a-second-rate-institution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/fryeblog\/2009\/10\/26\/a-first-rate-scholar-in-a-second-rate-institution\/","title":{"rendered":"“A First-Class Scholar in a Second-Class Institution”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\"Northrop_Frye_Hall\"<\/p>\n

Like Russell<\/a>, I am reading Bob Denham’s selection of Frye’s correspondence.\u00a0 This observation to Edith Sitwell<\/a> in April 1948 caught my attention:<\/p>\n

Once a critic learns his job, criticism ought to come very easily, for if he is writing about a greater man than himself (the normal procedure), he has that man’s power available\u00a0 and ready to be tapped, if he will only realize that it is greater, and puncture a hole in the dam of his own ego.\u00a0 The arrogance and self-sufficiency I find in so much contemporary criticism, especially in America, bewilders me, as it seems to make things needlessly difficult.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The “arrogance and self-sufficiency” of scholars seems to be a perennial problem.<\/p>\n

As Russell points out, Frye dedicated himself to Victoria College, even though in\u00a0the diaries (which end in 1955) he complains about how stifling the institution could be and occasionally wonders if he shouldn’t take up one of\u00a0the better offers coming his way.\u00a0 On January 19, 1950, he observes, “I am worried about my future as a first-class scholar in a second-class institution.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Like Russell, I am reading Bob Denham’s selection of Frye’s correspondence.\u00a0 This observation to Edith Sitwell in April 1948 caught my attention: Once a critic learns his job, criticism ought to come very easily, for if he is writing about a greater man than himself (the normal procedure), he has that man’s power available\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-correspondence"],"yoast_head":"\n"A First-Class Scholar in a Second-Class Institution" - The Educated Imagination<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/fryeblog\/2009\/10\/26\/a-first-rate-scholar-in-a-second-rate-institution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""A First-Class Scholar in a Second-Class Institution" - The Educated Imagination\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0 Like Russell, I am reading Bob Denham’s selection of Frye’s correspondence.\u00a0 This observation to Edith Sitwell in April 1948 caught my attention: Once a critic learns his job, criticism ought to come very easily, for if he is writing about a greater man than himself (the normal procedure), he has that man’s power available\u00a0 […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/fryeblog\/2009\/10\/26\/a-first-rate-scholar-in-a-second-rate-institution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Educated Imagination\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-10-26T17:34:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/fryeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2009\/10\/Northrop_Frye_Hall.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"694\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"494\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Happy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael Happy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/fryeblog\/2009\/10\/26\/a-first-rate-scholar-in-a-second-rate-institution\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/fryeblog\/2009\/10\/26\/a-first-rate-scholar-in-a-second-rate-institution\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Happy\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/fryeblog\/#\/schema\/person\/666be62a4e8014df67296baeeaf4db95\"},\"headline\":\"“A First-Class Scholar in a Second-Class Institution”\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-10-26T17:34:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/fryeblog\/2009\/10\/26\/a-first-rate-scholar-in-a-second-rate-institution\/\"},\"wordCount\":186,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/fryeblog\/2009\/10\/26\/a-first-rate-scholar-in-a-second-rate-institution\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/fryeblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2009\/10\/Northrop_Frye_Hall-300x213.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Correspondence\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/fryeblog\/2009\/10\/26\/a-first-rate-scholar-in-a-second-rate-institution\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/fryeblog\/2009\/10\/26\/a-first-rate-scholar-in-a-second-rate-institution\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/macblog.mcmaster.ca\/fryeblog\/2009\/10\/26\/a-first-rate-scholar-in-a-second-rate-institution\/\",\"name\":\"\\\"A First-Class Scholar in a Second-Class Institution\\\" - 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