Abstract

I never heard or met F. R. Leavis personally, but like many others I have felt the impact of his writing as teaching and would like to reflect on its nature in that regard. His published criticism is strongly inflected toward the purposes of teaching. His notorious exclusions, for example, of authors he knew very well are partly directed to the practical consideration of how much a conscientious student can read attentively in a three-year degree syllabus, and what reading in that time will best form the capacity for critical judgment. Yet he resisted the authority implicit in the notion of the teacher and saw the seminar as engaging in a common pursuit of reading, albeit with those less experienced than himself. I...