Word: edel
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...modest way (his manner rather suggests a family doctor), Leon Edel has "put to press" more than twenty books during the last twelve years, and read ten thousand of Henry James' letters. Now, during his visit here, he enjoys "peopling the streets of Cambridge" with the figures of that past era he works in and loves...
...Being the first occupant of the guest suite in Quincy House is a pleasant coincidence for me," says Professor Edel. "The James' residence used to be on Quincy Street--where the Faculty Club is now," he explains. "I devote a whole section of my James` biography to his Quincy period'--and here I am in your Quincy House...
...substitute for Albert J. Guerard, who is on leave, Professor Edel is handling the formidable Comparative Literature 166 ("The largest course I taught at N.Y.U. had about one hundred students"), a course titled Literature and Psychology, and a seminar on James. "Professor Guerard gives a course on the writing of fiction, you know, but I don't write fiction myself," he says. "However, this spring I will give a course in the writing of biography and criticism. A lot of careful thought goes into biographical writing. For instance, how much psychology should one use? I thought I might have...
...foremost, Edel is a Jamesian--and he was a Jamesian before it was considered fashionable. Born in Pittsburgh, he was whisked off to Canada by his parents, and he completed the major part of his education there. After receiving an M.A. from McGill in 1928, he studied for the "difficult" degree at the Sorbonne, the State Doctorate. "There were two dissertions required," he explains, "and I gave mine on James." He also explored his interest in psychology, "becoming one of the Adler entourage...
When he came back, the depression was "going full blast." Edel wrote for Canadian newspapers, did broadcasting work, tutoring, and received a Guggenheim fellowship to edit James' plays. "The army used my talents well in World War II," he added, "Others in my position were sent to Tokyo, but they sent me to France, where I was on the military end of psychological warfare. The Germans would be in pockets, you see, and we would get them to surrender, using loudspeakers and leaflets. It saved a lot of lives...