John Wain (1925–1994)
Author of Samuel Johnson
About the Author
Image credit: By Ida Kar. © National Portrait Gallery
Series
Works by John Wain
Associated Works
Johnson on Johnson : a selection of the personal and autobiographical writings of Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) (1976) — Editor — 21 copies
New World Writing: Sixth Mentor Selection - A New Adventure in Modern Reading (1954) — Contributor — 12 copies
New World Writing - Number 12 — Contributor — 7 copies
Die englische Literatur 10 in Text und Darstellung. 20. Jahrhundert 2. (2001) — Contributor — 6 copies
Vader is de beste — Author — 3 copies
The Amateur: and Other Modern Stories (English Language Learning: Reading Scheme) (1979) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Wain, John Barrington
- Birthdate
- 1925-03-14
- Date of death
- 1994-05-24
- Gender
- male
- Education
- High School, Newcastle-under-Lyme
University of Oxford (St. John's College) - Occupations
- professor (poetry ∙ Oxford)
lecturer (English ∙ Reading University)
journalist
poet
literary critic - Awards and honors
- Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1984)
- Short biography
- Wain was born and grew up in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, the son of a dentist, Arnold Wain, and his wife Annie, née Turner. He had an older sister and a younger brother, Noel. After attending Newcastle under Lyme High School, he entered St. John's College, Oxford, gaining a first in his BA in 1946 and MA in 1950. He was a Fereday Fellow of St John's between 1946 and 1949.[1] On 4 July 1947, Wain married Marianne Uffenheimer (b. 1923 or 1924), but they divorced in 1956. Wain then married Eirian Mary James (1920–1988), deputy director of the recorded sound department of the British Council, on 1 January 1960. They had three sons and lived mainly in Wolvercote, Oxford. Wain married his third wife, Patricia Adams (born 1942 or 1943), an art teacher, in 1989. Wain taught at the University of Reading during the late 1940s and early 1950s, and in 1963 spent a term as professor of rhetoric at Gresham College, London. He was the first fellow in creative arts at Brasenose College, Oxford (1971–1972), and was appointed a supernumerary fellow in 1973. In that same year, he was elected to the five-year post of Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford: some of his lectures are collected in his book Professing Poetry. Wain was appointed a CBE in 1984. He was made an honorary fellow of his old college, St John's, Oxford, in 1985. He died inOxford on 24 May 1994.
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK
- Places of residence
- Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, UK (birth)
Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK (death) - Place of death
- Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
- Map Location
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
Here's irony for you. In his fine blog Paul Magrs had recommended Susan Hill's 'Howard's End Is On The Landing'. I'll deal with that in another post, but in short tt's a book about Hill's decision to abandon buying new books for a year and explore her own collection instead. A fine idea, and one my tottering to read piles suggest would be a good idea for me too. Instead of heeding Hill's words though, I did my usual and ended up thinking 'that sounds interesting'. Actually, Hill's words must show more have sunk in to some extent as I managed to restrict myself to ordering just two.
The Smaller Sky was the first (and currently only one) to make it through Britain's current Ice Age. I'd never heard of Wain before, a man who'd been on the fringes of the Inklings, the 'Angry Young Men' of the 50s and 'The Movement', a group including the likes of Kingsley Amis and Philip Larkin. But all the details I could find all line indicated he was a peripheral figure to all that, one of those dragged in the wake of others and destined to be half-remembered at best. If his potted autobiography at the front is anything to go by that's a shame, it's witty, considered and indicates a prolific if dilettante mind. My favourite type of writer.
The story's all about Arthur Geary, a middle-aged scientist who's left his job and family to live on Paddington Station, spending his nights in the station hotel. Paddington's fairly cavernous roof is the smaller sky of the title, a haven and retreat for Geary which stops the sound of drums he can hear in his mind. It's a place he can lose himself in the crowds. We never really learn if the drums in Geary's head are driven by events in his past; there are vague hints of work he couldn't talk about under the Official Secrets Act but there's no real indication that Geary's work and domestic pressures are any greater than normal for the time. Essentially, it's dealing with the issue of stress decades before it became a common topic. We're not given any insight into the reasons as to his decision bar the absolute basics needed for the story. It's obviously deliberate, as it keeps the question as to Geary's sanity fairly open - he's clearly not sane by the standards of a society that doesn't understand his actions, but each passage from his viewpoint indicates that he's thinking rationally. You can subscribe to either viewpoint depending on your sympathies for his actions.
Wain's take is definitely a 60s one though, his apparent penchant for social realism leading him to examine how it impacts on his family. It's arguable the whole issue at the centre of the novel is rooted in the Sixties though, although in this case the man 'dropping out' isn't a counter culture steeped hippy but an older man who's almost the most unlikely person to drop out . I wasn't quite sure if Wain was ridiculing the whole notion of 'dropping out,' although that's a valid reading. It seems to me to be more to be an early tackling of the issue of people who find themselves trapped by the straitjacket of everyday life, and lacking a release, rebel against it - Geary fits in a line including the more flamboyant likes of Reggie Perrin or Blur's Tracy Jacks. Wain's oh so Sixties realism marks this out as a different approach to most other takes though. Instead of concentrating on the heroics of Geary's small act of rebellion, he also shows how it might be judged by others; family, friends and even how it might be exploited by the media. And Wain's not afraid of taking that to the logical conclusion, turning the book into a tragedy as his protagonist finds there is no real peace as he's hounded to his death; his desire to go unnoticed sacrificed on the altar of another's need to be noticed.
Wain's writing in itself is lovely, at times acutely and acidly observant, particularly on character. He's particularly good with the young characters, perfectly capturing their yearning for to grow up, but that they lack the tools to properly deal with the adult world.
It has small imperfections - Swarthmore is a little too much of a black-hatted bad guy (although well drawn and motivated) and Elizabeth Geary's connection is perhaps tenuous enough that you can feel narrative gears grinding. They're minor flaws though, Wain's dealing with issues still relevant today and his take on it is still eloquent and cutting.
Oh, and one final point; the image on the cover? Was the artist trying to suggest Tony Benn's sanity as questionable or just that Geary missed out on an easier career as Benn's double? show less
The Smaller Sky was the first (and currently only one) to make it through Britain's current Ice Age. I'd never heard of Wain before, a man who'd been on the fringes of the Inklings, the 'Angry Young Men' of the 50s and 'The Movement', a group including the likes of Kingsley Amis and Philip Larkin. But all the details I could find all line indicated he was a peripheral figure to all that, one of those dragged in the wake of others and destined to be half-remembered at best. If his potted autobiography at the front is anything to go by that's a shame, it's witty, considered and indicates a prolific if dilettante mind. My favourite type of writer.
The story's all about Arthur Geary, a middle-aged scientist who's left his job and family to live on Paddington Station, spending his nights in the station hotel. Paddington's fairly cavernous roof is the smaller sky of the title, a haven and retreat for Geary which stops the sound of drums he can hear in his mind. It's a place he can lose himself in the crowds. We never really learn if the drums in Geary's head are driven by events in his past; there are vague hints of work he couldn't talk about under the Official Secrets Act but there's no real indication that Geary's work and domestic pressures are any greater than normal for the time. Essentially, it's dealing with the issue of stress decades before it became a common topic. We're not given any insight into the reasons as to his decision bar the absolute basics needed for the story. It's obviously deliberate, as it keeps the question as to Geary's sanity fairly open - he's clearly not sane by the standards of a society that doesn't understand his actions, but each passage from his viewpoint indicates that he's thinking rationally. You can subscribe to either viewpoint depending on your sympathies for his actions.
Wain's take is definitely a 60s one though, his apparent penchant for social realism leading him to examine how it impacts on his family. It's arguable the whole issue at the centre of the novel is rooted in the Sixties though, although in this case the man 'dropping out' isn't a counter culture steeped hippy but an older man who's almost the most unlikely person to drop out . I wasn't quite sure if Wain was ridiculing the whole notion of 'dropping out,' although that's a valid reading. It seems to me to be more to be an early tackling of the issue of people who find themselves trapped by the straitjacket of everyday life, and lacking a release, rebel against it - Geary fits in a line including the more flamboyant likes of Reggie Perrin or Blur's Tracy Jacks. Wain's oh so Sixties realism marks this out as a different approach to most other takes though. Instead of concentrating on the heroics of Geary's small act of rebellion, he also shows how it might be judged by others; family, friends and even how it might be exploited by the media. And Wain's not afraid of taking that to the logical conclusion, turning the book into a tragedy as his protagonist finds there is no real peace as he's hounded to his death; his desire to go unnoticed sacrificed on the altar of another's need to be noticed.
Wain's writing in itself is lovely, at times acutely and acidly observant, particularly on character. He's particularly good with the young characters, perfectly capturing their yearning for to grow up, but that they lack the tools to properly deal with the adult world.
It has small imperfections - Swarthmore is a little too much of a black-hatted bad guy (although well drawn and motivated) and Elizabeth Geary's connection is perhaps tenuous enough that you can feel narrative gears grinding. They're minor flaws though, Wain's dealing with issues still relevant today and his take on it is still eloquent and cutting.
Oh, and one final point; the image on the cover? Was the artist trying to suggest Tony Benn's sanity as questionable or just that Geary missed out on an easier career as Benn's double? show less
Entertaining and lively novel that created a ground shift in authorial voices and subject matter when it arrived on the scene (1953). Charles Lumley doesn't want to drift into the usual life's pattern after Cambridge. He is drawn towards a look at life as it's lived on the streets and away from pre-determined career paths. As a young man, to him what seems important is a regular pay, a girlfriend and a chance to spend and live his life by ignoring the accepted standards of his class.
He's a show more regular English guy, independent of thought, who stands up for himself and rejects society's cant. He can't avoid scrapes and some desperate spots of bother, but he manages with some success to hold out against the grey world.
John Wain was a big name once because he was associated with the "Angry Young Men". I don't think he was part of this clique. His themes tend more towards the plight of the young man at odds with perceived wisdom about how one's class should fit into the world.
Worth the read, if only for it being a bit of a game changer in the English novel. show less
He's a show more regular English guy, independent of thought, who stands up for himself and rejects society's cant. He can't avoid scrapes and some desperate spots of bother, but he manages with some success to hold out against the grey world.
John Wain was a big name once because he was associated with the "Angry Young Men". I don't think he was part of this clique. His themes tend more towards the plight of the young man at odds with perceived wisdom about how one's class should fit into the world.
Worth the read, if only for it being a bit of a game changer in the English novel. show less
Seven stories here, some republished. Some are accomplished, such as the title story; some are stock items. The final story (A Man in a Million) is an incoherent ramble that appears to have destabilised the writer's judgement. It reads as an attempt at invective aimed at a new breed of Fleet Street / Soho writers. One ends by feeling sorry for John Wain because it is so embarrassing.
In the end it doesn't matter. I don't think anyone reads him anymore. The world of ploughman's lunches, show more Benson and Hedges, a bottle of "E" by the neck, Califont geysers and Ford Fiascos has slipped away. Twenty years ago our city library withdrew most of John Wain's fiction and I snapped it up at 50c per book. It's chastening to see how time and fashion change one's outlook. show less
In the end it doesn't matter. I don't think anyone reads him anymore. The world of ploughman's lunches, show more Benson and Hedges, a bottle of "E" by the neck, Califont geysers and Ford Fiascos has slipped away. Twenty years ago our city library withdrew most of John Wain's fiction and I snapped it up at 50c per book. It's chastening to see how time and fashion change one's outlook. show less
Anthony Burgess wrote with contempt when discussing John Wain. "... he ought to consider giving up extended fiction." Burgess derided him for a lack of editorship in his work.
There is nothing at all careless about this novel. It's sparse, topical even fifty years later as an examination of a life under stress, and treats with great sympathy the young characters who are bewildered by the terrible discontinuity in their lives when their father leaves.
There is nothing at all careless about this novel. It's sparse, topical even fifty years later as an examination of a life under stress, and treats with great sympathy the young characters who are bewildered by the terrible discontinuity in their lives when their father leaves.
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Statistics
- Works
- 72
- Also by
- 24
- Members
- 1,916
- Popularity
- #13,432
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 20
- ISBNs
- 123
- Languages
- 5
- Favorited
- 2
