Northrop Frye once wrote, "I've always wanted to write 'my own' book of pensees. The disadvantage of this project is that it can't be planned."

Fulfilling Frye's own idea, Robert D. Denham has drawn from Frye's own notebooks and diaries a hugely entertaining collection of literary musings, thoughts on religion, and aphoristic speculations on a broad range of topics. We see Frye unbuttoning his suit jacket and revealing his vulnerable side -- idiosyncratic, cranky, irreverent, down-to-earth. The book also contains many personal and autobiographical passages such as the loving entries on the death of Frye's wife, Helen.

Northrop Frye (1912-1991) was one of Canada's most distinguished men of letters. His first book, Fearful Symmetry, published in 1947, transformed the study of the poet William Blake, and over the next forty years he transformed the study of literature itself. Among his most influential books are Anatomy of Criticism (1957), The Educated Imagination (1963), The Bush Garden (1971), and The Great Code (1982). Northrop Frye on Shakespeare (1986) won the Governor General's Award for Non-Fiction. A professor at the University of Toronto, Frye gained an international reputation for his wide-reaching critical vision. He lectured at universities around the world and received many awards and honours, including thirty-six honorary degrees.

Northrop Frye's profile page

Robert D. Denham has edited a number of books by Northrop Frye, including Myth and Metaphor, Reading the World, The Eternal Act of Creation, Frye's diaries, and three volumes of his notebooks. Denham is also the author of Northrop Frye and Critical Method and Northrop Frye: Religious Visionary and Architect of the Spiritual World.

Robert Denham's profile page