410:'s Biodun Jeyifo has commended the "superb work" of "this meticulous scholar-critic". The classicist Roger Just has also drawn attention to his "care, precision, good sense and…admirable lightness of touch.". However, his writing has also given rise to vocal dissent, adopting as he does a line that seems now radical, now trenchantly traditionalist. His decision, in the words of John McLeod, "not to work with the niceties and orthodoxies of postcolonial theory" has on occasions given rise to sharply worded rejoinders. He has little time for critical fashion and in 1999 coined the mocking term "Theocolonialism" to describe the subordination of independent judgement to passing fad, and the purported tendency among some academics in the field of literary studies to leap aboard noisy bandwagons.
22:
422:, a 270-page "opened letter" narrating the circumstances of her death, and meditating on the ethical, legal and religious implications of her treatment. Their son is the theoretical physicist Dr Benedict Joseph ("Benjo") Fraser. Robert Fraser is now married to the biographer and food historian Dr Brigid Allen.
378:
of western print capitalism, challenges alphabetical literacy as the universal litmus test registering the impact of writing systems and print technologies, and disputes an indifferentiated approach to the history of the non-western book. He argues that communicative forms are multivalent, mutually
373:
described this as "a highly nuanced, densely argued comparative study of the technologies of the intellect – speech, gesture and print – as they manifest themselves in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa", and concluded: "In an exposé of the necessary rapprochement between book history and
222:
as a special introductory volume. In 1994 he edited for the Oxford World's
Classics a "new abridgement" of Frazer's classic that brought some of its most provocative ideas back into general circulation, including theories on Christianity and sacred prostitution.
318:, Barker's lifelong friend, was published by the Oxford University Press. The book was criticised in some quarters for devoting insufficient space to the darker side of Gascoyne's personality. "Fatally," remarked Paul Batchelor in
330:
lauded it as "a witnessed romance of manners and slights, a landscape in which cold biographical facts are converted into metaphors of questing vision, delirium, breakdown". In May the book was placed first in the
379:
constitutive, opportunistic and deeply implicated in their resistance to, or adaptation of, local cultural expressions." Over the same period, Fraser co-edited with his friend
Professor Mary Hammond of
686:(Oxford University Press for the English Association, Vol. XXX, No. 136 (Spring 1981), pp. 84–6. Laura Riding's riposte was printed in Vol. XXX1, No 139 (Spring 1982), pp. 85–100.
242:
In the wider literary world, Fraser is principally associated with the life and work of certain twentieth-century
British poets. In the early 1980s he conducted a dispute with
1103:, No. 30 (Autumn, 1999), pp. 9–14. A revised version appears as Part Four: Postcolonial Theory As Fiction, Chapter 14: "Theocolonialism: Persons, Tenses and Moods" in
1174:
1189:
277:, aroused opposition among some members of the poet's own family. However, on its appearance in late 2001, it was warmly reviewed by the poets laureate
1184:
614:
Mere Idle
Calumnies: How Sir James Frazer’s anthropological open-mindedness was misappropriated to support a Blood Libel – and how he responded
210:
Academically, Fraser is both a Proust scholar and a specialist in the writing of his near namesake, the classicist and cultural anthropologist
365:. During 2004–07, he travelled in India and Africa researching a comparative account of publishing in those regions which appeared in 2008 as
1179:
866:
1169:
214:, on whom he has published several books, and the genesis of whose best known work on magic, religion and myth he charted in
997:(London: Palgrave 2008): Volume One: The Crossnational Dimension in Print Culture; Volume Two: Perspectives from South Asia.
135:, where he was Director of Studies in English until 1993, tutoring among others the novelist Belinda Starling and the actor
898:(Oxford: James Currey; Johannesburg: Wits University Press; Athens: Ohio University Press, 2008), pp. 77–8, 82, 287, 297–8.
92:
418:
For 32 years, until her death in 2014, Fraser was married to the law lecturer
Catherine Birkett. In 2018, he published
850:
178:(2018). He is the author of several biographical works for the theatre, including plays on the lives of the composer
461:
398:
Fraser has been described as a writer "who tries to keep one foot planted in, and the other well outside, academe".
166:
performed at Buxton in 1989. He has also published articles on the cultural and political contexts of the music of
136:
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Fraser's choral background can be detected in his work for the stage, such as the performing translation of
95:, where the college's famous gallery of Victorian paintings was to inspire his illustrated volume of poetry
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486:
218:. A study in intellectual gestation, it was later integrated into the full "archive" edition of Frazer's
147:
1119:(London: Cranthorpe Millner, 2018). For background information see "Five minutes with Robert Fraser".
132:
646:
The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and
Religion, A New Abridgment from the Second and Third Editions
25:
Robert Fraser at the Syri i Kaltër ("Blue Eye") spring in
Albania, May 2016. Photo by Maria Thanasi.
116:
56:
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Writers and Their Work (Tavistock: Northcote House in
Association with the British Council, 2003).
76:
47:, Surrey, the second son of Harry MacKenzie Fraser, a London solicitor, and Ada Alice Gittins of
1159:
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99:(2017). Simultaneously with his doctorate he studied Harmony, Counterpoint and Composition at
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See especially Joseph
Bristow "A discipline divided: Is there a crisis in English Studies?",
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357:. He has published a "critical history" of West African poetry, along with monographs on
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851:"Night Thoughts: The Surreal Life of the Poet David Gascoyne by Robert Fraser – review"
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322:, "Fraser has little time for introverts". In marked contrast, reviewing the book for
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Fraser was one of the guiding spirits behind
Heinemann Educational Book's celebrated
159:
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Africa Writes Back: The African Writer’s Series and the Launch of African Literature
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737:, 17 February 2002, Books Section, p. 13. See also, however, Christopher Barker,
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55:. His brother was Malcolm Fraser (1939–2012), Emeritus Professor of Opera at the
387:. In October 2005, in connection with this work, he was elected a Fellow of the
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Sir James Frazer and the Literary Imagination: Essays in Affinity and Influence
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Whatever is, is right: Handel’s Penultimate Oratorio and the Pity of War
984:, Leslie Howsam ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015), 60.
335:
chart of 10 best new biographies. Fraser's own poetry is collected in
606:
The Making of the Golden Bough: The Origins and Growth of An Argument
216:
The Making of The Golden Bough: The Origins and Growth of An Argument
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in the Close. Among his fellow choristers were the future newscaster
48:
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in Ghana, where he lectured from 1970 to 1974 before moving to the
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960:(Milton Keynes: The Open University), January/February 2004, p. 7.
729:, 6 February 2002, p. 12; Elspeth Barker, "Too shabby for words",
407:
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63:. At the age of eight, Robert Fraser won a choral scholarship to
733:, March 2002, pp. 104–5; Elspeth Barker, "Admired and Reviled",
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His comparative essays on literature and music are collected in
544:
Royal Society of Literature, List of Fellows and Members, 2009.
171:
91:. He later wrote a doctorate on tradition in English poetry at
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edited by Robert Fraser (London: Faber, 1987); George Barker,
608:(Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1990). See also Robert Fraser (ed.),
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with a Foreword by Roy Hattersley (Buxton, 2004), pp. 70, 134.
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See especially his "The Shock Of The New Has Lost Its Edge",
970:
Book History Through Postcolonial Eyes: Re-Writing the Script
367:
Book History Through Postcolonial Eyes: Re-Writing the Script
183:
583:, The Times Literary Supplement, 17 January 2003, pp. 13–14.
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Open University Faculty of Arts – Robert Fraser recent work
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Literature, Music and Cosmopolitanism: Culture as Migration
399:
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Literature, Music and Cosmopolitanism: Culture as Migration
32:
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The Novels of Ayi Kwei Armah: A Study in Polemical Fiction
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At the same time, he is a respected critic of the work of
383:
a two-volume survey of international publishing entitled
142:
Fraser is currently Emeritus Professor of English at the
67:, where he sang the daily services while studying at the
911:
No. 59, (25th Anniversary Issue, Autumn 2009), pp. 84–5.
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Lifting the Sentence: A Poetics of Postcolonial Fiction
35:(born 10 May 1947) is a British author and biographer.
351:, and is a founding editor of the 35-year-old journal
205:
75:
and international tenor Julian Pike. After attending
522:(Egham: Royal Holloway, University of London, 2017).
1019:
Harold Bloom's Modern Critical Views: Marcel Proust
802:"An old bohemian, amoral and fiercely moralising",
741:(London: Pomona, 2006), pp. 137, 142, 157, 173 etc.
612:(Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1990); and Robert Fraser,
1099:See "The Death of Theory: A Report From the Web",
982:The Cambridge Companion to the History of the Book
406:has noted his powers of comparative analysis, and
371:The Cambridge Companion to the History of the Book
570:, The London Magazine, April/May 2004, pp. 46–54.
520:The Founders’ Gift: Impressions from a Collection
374:postcolonialism Fraser counters the evolutionary
97:The Founders' Gift: Impressions from a Collection
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1107:(Manchester University Press, 2000), pp. 214–30.
1032:Wole Soyinka: Politics, Poetics, Postcolonialism
361:– a personal friend – and the Ghanaian novelist
750:"Equally devoted to the gutter and the stars",
1175:Alumni of Royal Holloway, University of London
1034:(Cambridge University Press, 2003), pp. 224–7.
629:Volume two of the Palgrave Archive edition of
502:Jon Snow, "Passion and tears before bedtime",
658:Proust and the Victorians: The Lamp of Memory
464:. Royal Society of Literature. Archived from
1117:Pascal’s Tears: How Not to Murder One’s Wife
1007:The Royal Society of Literature Review 2008,
827:ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199558148.do
420:Pascal's Tears: How Not to Murder One's Wife
789:"A pugilist poet with a taste for danger",
714:The Chameleon Poet: A Life of George Barker
682:Robert Fraser, "From Fable to Cryptogram",
635:(Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave, 2002).
506:, 19 March 1995, p. 19. See also Jon Snow,
1190:Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature
776:"Faithful to his Muse, not to his women",
342:
198:in 1984 and toured Britain with the actor
1021:(Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2004), vii.
754:Weekend 9/10 February 2002, Books, p. iv.
1185:Academics of the University of Cambridge
510:(London: HarperCollins, 2004), pp. 21–5.
314:In 2012, Fraser's biography of the poet
250:, who took issue with his review of her
115:Fraser began his teaching career at the
20:
1043:Roger Just, "The Lichen on the Bough",
972:(London and New York: Routledge, 2008).
921:West African Poetry: A Critical History
725:"Barker Bites Back", Londoner’s Diary,
237:
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648:(Oxford University Press, 1992, 1998).
1071:The Times Higher Education Supplement
1058:The Times Higher Education Supplement
885:(London: Balmond and McKenzie, 2016).
1180:Academics of the University of Leeds
933:Ben Okri: Towards The Invisible City
883:Fox Hill in the Snow and other poems
508:Shooting History: A Personal Journey
337:Fox Hill in The Snow and other poems
127:. He subsequently held posts in the
93:Royal Holloway, University of London
923:(Cambridge University Press, 1986).
595:(London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018).
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1170:Alumni of the University of Sussex
206:Marcel Proust and Sir James Frazer
43:Fraser was born on 10 May 1947 in
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716:(London; Jonathan Cape, 2001).
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806:, 23 February 2002, pp. 37–8.
765:The Times Literary Supplement
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836:'Greetings to the Solitary'
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555:Buxton: An English Festival
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487:"Malcolm Fraser" (obituary)
311:Book of the Year for 2002.
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669:"Proust – Life and Work",
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133:Trinity College, Cambridge
947:(London: Heinemann, 1980)
763:"In love with the muse",
735:The Independent on Sunday
673:, Thursday 17 April 2003.
440:"Professor Robert Fraser"
1047:, 11 January 1991, p. 3.
739:The Arms of the Infinite
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117:University of Cape Coast
79:. Fraser went on to the
57:University of Cincinnati
1082:John McLeod, review of
343:Literature in the World
257:In 1987, he edited the
77:Kingston Grammar School
703:(London: Faber, 1995),
381:Southampton University
349:African Writers Series
273:. His life of Barker,
59:and co-founder of the
26:
1073:, 13 May 1988, p. 16.
1060:, 3 June 1988, p. 14.
995:Books Without Borders
644:James George Fraser,
389:Royal Asiatic Society
385:Books Without Borders
285:, and by the writers
188:God's Good Englishman
83:to read English with
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1165:People from Surbiton
1084:Lifting the Sentence
778:The Sunday Telegraph
727:The Evening Standard
246:, former consort of
238:Biography and poetry
146:and a Fellow of the
129:University of London
81:University of Sussex
65:Winchester Cathedral
1150:English biographers
907:"To Be A Pilgrim",
752:The Financial Times
533:The London Magazine
504:The Daily Telegraph
491:The Daily Telegraph
212:James George Frazer
202:in its title role.
137:Alexander Armstrong
121:University of Leeds
295:Humphrey Carpenter
275:The Chameleon Poet
261:, and in 1995 the
164:Il pittor parigino
27:
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553:Michael Kennedy,
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160:Domenico Cimarosa
107:and James Iliff.
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200:Timothy West
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1155:1947 births
671:In Our Time
269:'s protégé
267:T. S. Eliot
232:In Our Time
220:magnum opus
1144:Categories
426:References
39:Early life
308:Spectator
162:'s opera
49:Pontypool
1101:Wasafiri
909:Wasafiri
472:14 March
446:14 March
359:Ben Okri
354:Wasafiri
339:(2016).
111:Teaching
73:Jon Snow
45:Surbiton
684:English
408:Harvard
182:and of
168:Purcell
154:Writing
131:and at
1009:p. 62.
958:Sesame
731:Tatler
172:Handel
394:Style
376:telos
265:, of
184:Byron
103:with
474:2010
448:2010
400:Yale
297:and
281:and
170:and
87:and
33:FRSL
1086:in
402:'s
305:as
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