Philip Tew

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Professor Philip Tew (born 1954) is an English academic. Professor in English (Post-1900 Literature) in the School of Arts at Brunel University [3], Tew is a leading expert in the field of contemporary and modern British fiction after 1945, and various strands of critical or 'high' theory, particularly metarealism and materialism. He has been an outspoken opponent of the essentialism and anti-realist orthodoxies underlying much of postmodernist and postcolonial criticism. Tew is the author of standard works on B.S. Johnson, Jim Crace and the contemporary British novel.

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[edit] Education and career

Tew was born into a working class English family in 1954 in Enfield, Middlesex, a northern borough of London. Tew's secondary education took place at Enfield Grammar School; he entered the school when Jim Crace, later to become one of Britain's foremost novelists and the subject of a monograph by Tew, was in the third-year sixth re-sitting maths O-level to add to his A-Levels for university entry.[1]

Tew himself attended the University of Leicester, where he gained a BA (Upper Second Class Hons.) in American Studies (with English and History) in 1976. In 1977, he was awarded a PGCE in English (Middle and Secondary Schools), and he has taught in numerous schools and colleges. Between 1977-82 and 1988-92, Tew worked in both primary and secondary schools in Leicestershire and London. He worked in Further Education Colleges as a lecturer in English for the ILEA (Inner London Education Authority) from 1982-90.

After part-time research, Tew gained an MPhil in modern American literature in 1985, with a thesis focussing on the novels of Kurt Vonnegut. In 1995, after an eight-year career in Further Education Colleges and five years in his first university post, Tew left full-time employment to enter the PhD programme at the University of Westminster. He completed his doctorate - on avante-garde, working class author, B.S. Johnson - in twenty months between 1995 and 1997: Manchester University Press published a revised version as an academic monograph in 2001. [For the above see Gale Research Company's Contemporary Authors website]

Tew has held various full and part-time appointments at the following higher education establishments since 1990: University of Wolverhampton; University of Westminster; Jesus College, Cambridge; Debrecen University (Hungary); Szeged University (Hungary); Birmingham City University; University of Northampton and Brunel University. He was Reader (Associate Professor) in English at Debrecen University (Hungary) and Birmingham City University (formerly UCE Birmingham), and Professor of English at the University of Northampton and Brunel University (appointed in May 2006).

Tew has also had many jobs outside education. In the early 1980s, he worked as a playleader on a GLC (Greater London Council) scheme, setting up huge inflatable structures in London parks. (A fellow worker, Will Self, who became a long-term friend, subsequently achieved considerable success as a satirical novelist and journalist.)[2] Tew was also an occasional stagehand at the English National Opera during this period, working at the London Coliseum theatre. From 1997-2001 Tew combined academic work with freelance assignments in television research and production for Café Productions and Dai-4 Films.[4] He continues as a consultant for the latter.

Tew has lectured widely in North America, and Europe (including Albania, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Serbia, Spain, and Russia). His academic criticism is both recommended reading on university courses and stocked in college and university libraries worldwide. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

[edit] Memberships and other roles

Tew is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts [18] and member of the Royal Society of Literature [19], founding and executive Director of the UK Network for Modern Fiction Studies[20], joint managing editor of Symbiosis: a Journal of Anglo-American Literary Relations[21], and a member of a national panel to assess research funding submissions in the humanities (the AHRC Peer Review College). Since 1998 he has been an active member of the Northeast Modern Languages Association (NEMLA), a regional scholarly organization for professionals in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and other modern languages based in the USA [22]. He will be chairing a panel on Anglo-American influences and interrelations at the NEMLA 2008 Convention which will be held in Buffalo, NY, April 10-13, 2008.

[edit] Notable publications

Tew's many publications include the following books: B. S. Johnson: A Critical Reading (Manchester UP, 2001), Contemporary British Fiction (Polity, 2003) co-edited with Richard J. Lane and Rod Mengham (Reader in English, Jesus College, Cambridge), The Contemporary British Novel (Continuum, 2004; Svetovi Press Serbian translation 2006; second rev. ed. 2007), Jim Crace: A Critical Introduction (Manchester UP, 2006) [23][, British Fiction Today co-edited with Rod Mengham (Continuum, 2006) [24] and Re-reading B. S. Johnson (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007) a collection co-edited with Glyn White [25].

Forthcoming books are: Re-Envisioning the Pastoral (Fairleigh Dickinson UP) co-edited with David James, and a single author study, Zadie Smith (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008). Tew is co-editor of two series: Palgrave Macmillan's New British Fiction (with Rod Mengham) and the forthcoming Continuum Literary Handbooks (with Steven Barfield).

[edit] Personal life

Tew has lived in Tufnell Park in north London since 1988. Married in 1976, he was divorced in 1981. He has one son, George Alister Tew, born in July 1980, who is a graduate of Bristol and Oxford universities.

[edit] Works

Books :

Chapters and Essays in Books & Collections:

  • ‘Literary Theory.’ Dictionary of Critical Realism. Mervyn Hartwig (ed.). London and New York: Routledge, 2007, 280 – 2. [ISBN: H/B 0415261619, 9780415261616; P/B 041526099x, 9780415260992]
  • ‘Martin Amis and Late-twentieth-century Working-class Masculinity: Money and London Fields.’ Gavin Keulks. (ed). Martin Amis: Postmodernism and Beyond. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006, 71 – 86. (ISBN: H/B 0230008305, 9780230008304).
  • ‘Exploring the Self, Judaism and the Pentateuch: Jenny Diski’s Skating to Antarctica (1997), Only Human: A Divine Comedy (2000) and After These Things (2004).’ British Fiction Today. Rod Mengham and Philip Tew (eds.) London: Continuum, forthcoming 2006 (ISBN: HB: 08264 87319; PB: 08264 873 27).
  • ‘B. S. Johnson and the BBC: Initial Contacts.’ Reading Without Maps: Cultural Landmarks in a Post-Canonical Age. A Tribute to Gilbert Debusscher. Christophe Den Tandt (ed.). Brussels and New York: PIE/Peter Lang, 2005: 119 – 33. [invited & refereed contribution]
  • ‘Exploring an Economy of Exegetical Structures through Cassirer and Bourdieu.’ Metaphors of Economy. Critical Studies series. Nicole Bracker and Stefan Herbrechter (eds.). Amsterdam: Rodopi Press, 2005: 39 – 53 (ISBN 90-420-1568-3).
  • 'British Theory and Criticism, 1900 and After.' With Prof. Philip Smallwood. The Johns Hopkins Guide to Criticism and Theory. 2nd ed. Michael Groden, Martin Kreiswirth, and Imre Szeman (eds.). Baltimore & London: Johns Hopkins UP, 2005: 156 -160. (ISBN 0-8018-8010-6)
  • ‘My doingthings: London according to B. S. Johnson.’ Literary London. Lawrence Phillips (ed). Amsterdam: Rodopi Press, 2004: 111 – 129 (ISBN 9042016639).
  • ‘Three Dialogues as a Laughable Text?: Beckett’s Bergsonian Comedy,’ Samuel Beckett Today/Aujourd'hui. 1 February 2003, vol. 13, no. 1, 105-118; Amsterdam and New York: Rodopi. (ISBN 90-420-0808-3) [refereed submission]
  • ‘A New Sense of Reality? A New Sense of the Text? 'Exploring the Literary-Critical Field and Meta-Realism.’ After Postmodernism. Klaus Stierstorfer (ed.). Berlin and New York: De Gruyter, 2003: 29 – 50. (ISBN 3-11-017722-6).
  • ‘Radical Victorian.’ [critical after-word]. Thomson, James. The City of Dreadful Night. London: Agraphia, 2003: 55 – 66 (ISBN 1 904596 01 0).
  • ‘Philosophy, Psychoanalysis and Parody: Exceedingly Beckett.’ With Steven Barfield. Pastiches, Parodies & Other Imitations (Samuel Beckett Today/Aujourd'hui 12) . Marius Buning, Matthijs Engelberts and Sjef Houppermans (eds.).Amsterdam and New York, Rodopi, 2002: 93 – 104 (ISBN 90-420-1094-0)
  • ‘The Fiction of A. L. Kennedy.’ Contemporary British Fiction. Richard J. Lane, Rod Mangham and Philip Tew (eds.). Cambridge: Polity Press, 2003: 120 – 39 (ISBN 0745628664 ).
  • ‘Philosophical adjacency: Beckett’s Prose Fragments via Jűrgen Habermas.’ Beckett and Philosophy. Richard J. Lane (ed.). London: Palgrave, 2002: 140 - 153 (ISBN 0-333-91879-7).
  • ‘Co-ordinates for Reconsidering Literary Interpretation.’ After Postmodernism: An Introduction to Critical Realism. Garry Potter & Jose Lopez (eds.). London: Athlone Press: 2001: 196 – 205 (ISBN: HB – 0 00440 2; PB – 0 485 00629 4).
  • ‘Chaos and Truth: B. S. Johnson’s Theoretical and Literary Narratives.’ Focus: Papers in English Literary and Cultural Studies. Maria Kurdi, Gabriella Hartvig and Andrew C. Rouse, (eds.). Pecs, Hungary: U of Pecs P, 2000: 38 – 54; (ISSN: 1585-5228).

Periodical and Journal Publication:

  • ‘Across the Prairies, and Beyond the Postmodern: A. L. Kennedy, Linda Hutcheon and Realizing the Contemporary.’ Wascana Review of Contemporary Poetry and Fiction. Spring 2003 (38:1): 51 – 65. (ISSN 0043 0412).
  • ‘Introduction.’ New Formations: A Journal of Culture / Theory / Politics. Philip Tew and Wendy Wheeler (eds.). 49 (Spring 2003): 7 – 13. (ISSN 09502378; ISBN 0853159742).
  • Complex Figures issue. New Formations: A Journal of Culture / Theory / Politics. 49 (Spring 2003) Philip Tew and Wendy Wheeler (eds.): 187pp; (ISSN 09502378; ISBN 0853159742).
  • ‘B. S. Johnson,’ [author overview essay]. The Review of Contemporary Fiction. 22:1 (Spring 2002): 7 – 58 (ISSN: 0276-0045).
  • ‘A Matter of Memory: Monica Jones, Philip Larkin & Myself.’ About Larkin: Newsletter of the Philip Larkin Society. [Sponsored by St. John's College, Oxford). 12 (Oct. 2001): 19 – 20 (ISSN: 1362-542X).
  • ‘(Re)-acknowledging B. S. Johnson’s Radical Realism, or Re-publishing The Unfortunates.’ Critical Survey. 13:1 (2001): 37 – 61 (ISSN: 0011-1570).
  • Forgotten Voices issue, [proceedings of ‘Forgotten Voices of the Twentieth Century Symposium.’ HJEAS: Hungarian Journal for English and American Studies. Philip Tew (ed.). 5, 2 (Autumn/Winter 1999), pp. 234 (ISSN: 1218-7364).
  • ‘Theorizing The Lexicon of Youth in Contemporary Irish Fiction: Mac Laverty, Bolger, and Doyle via Lefebvre’s Tenth Prelude.’ Special issue Essays on Contemporary Irish Literature and Culture in Honour of Brian Friel at Seventy. HJEAS; The Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies. 5, 1 (Spring/Summer 1999): 181 – 197 (ISSN: 1218-7364).
  • ‘Re-invoking Herbert Simmons: Man Walking on Eggshells of Radical Narrative.’ Forgotten Voices special issue. HJEAS: The Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies. Philip Tew (ed.). 5 (2) Autumn/Winter 1999, 109 – 126; (ISSN: 1218-7364).
  • ‘Journeying with Bachelard, Bourdieu and Others toward Bunting: Revisiting the Margins of Forgetfulness.’ Forgotten Voices special issue. HJEAS: The Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies. Philip Tew (ed.). 5 (2) Autumn/Winter 1999, 11 – 37 (ISSN: 1218-7364).
  • ‘Contextualizing B. S. Johnson (1933-73): the British novel’s forgotten voice of protest.’ The Anachronist. Eõtvõs Loránd University, Budapest. Winter 1998: 165 – 92 (ISSN: 1210-2589).

Electronic / Online Publication:

Works in Progress:

  • Zadie Smith. Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming 2008.
  • Writers Talk: Interviews with Contemporary British Novelists. (with Fiona Tolan and Leigh Wilson). Continuum, forthcoming 2008.

[edit] External links

Recordings

Recordings from The Shanghai To Shepperton International Conference on J.G. Ballard (the University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom, Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th May 2007, organized by Dr. Jeanette Baxter):

  • Tew’s opening Plenary Session: ‘The Violence of J.G. Ballard's Postmillennial Fiction: the Possibilities of Sacrifice, the Certainties of Trauma’. [26]

Reviews

  • Review of B. S. Johnson: A critical reading [30]
  • Review of The Contemporary British Novel: From John Fowles to Zadie Smith. [31]
  • Review of The Contemporary British Novel: From John Fowles to Zadie Smith. [32]

Other

  • Tew's views on the Booker shortlist: [33]

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1]How we met: Jim Crace and Will Self, The Independent, July 16, 1995
  2. ^ [2]Ibid