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<p>This article addresses the age-old correlation between poetic genius and madness as represented in Malcolm Bradbury’s academic novel <italic>Eating People Is Wrong</italic> (1959), zeroing in on a student-cum-poet and a novelist-cum-poet called Louis Bates and Carey Willoughby, respectively. While probing this unexplored theme in Bradbury’s novel, I pursue three primary aims. To begin with, I seek to demonstrate that certain academics’ tendency to fuse or confuse the poetic genius of their students and colleagues with madness is not only rooted in inherited assumptions, generalizations, and exaggerations but also in their own antipathy towards poets on the grounds that they persistently diverge from social norms. Second, I endeavour to ignite readers’ enthusiasm about the academic novel subgenre by underscoring the vital role it plays in energizing scholarly debate about the appealing theme of poetic madness. Lastly, the study concedes that notwithstanding the prevalence of prejudice among their populations, universities, on the whole, do not relinquish their natural veneration for originality, discordant views, and rewarding dialogue.</p>
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This article addresses the age-old correlation between poetic genius and madness as represented in Malcolm Bradbury’s academic novel Eating People Is Wrong (1959), zeroing in on a student-cum-poet and a novelist-cum-poet called Louis Bates and Carey Willoughby, respectively. While probing this unexplored theme in Bradbury’s novel, I pursue three primary aims. To begin with, I seek to demonstrate that certain academics’ tendency to fuse or confuse the poetic genius of their students and colleagues with madness is not only rooted in inherited assumptions, generalizations, and exaggerations but also in their own antipathy towards poets on the grounds that they persistently diverge from social norms. Second, I endeavour to ignite readers’ enthusiasm about the academic novel subgenre by underscoring the vital role it plays in energizing scholarly debate about the appealing theme of poetic madness. Lastly, the study concedes that notwithstanding the prevalence of prejudice among their populations, universities, on the whole, do not relinquish their natural veneration for originality, discordant views, and rewarding dialogue.

Poetic Madness in Malcolm Bradbury’s <italic>Eating People Is Wrong</italic>

American, British and Canadian Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

This article addresses the age-old correlation between poetic genius and madness as represented in Malcolm Bradbury’s academic novel Eating People Is Wrong...

Poetic Madness in Malcolm Bradbury’s Eating People Is Wrong

Publié en ligne: 31 juil. 2021

Pages: 5 - 25

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/abcsj-2021-0002

Mots clés
academic novel, genius, poetic madness, Malcolm Bradbury, originality, critical thinking

© 2021 Noureddine Friji, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Poetic Madness in Malcolm Bradbury’s Eating People Is Wrong

Publié en ligne: 31 juil. 2021

Pages: 5 - 25

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/abcsj-2021-0002

Mots clésacademic novel, genius, poetic madness, Malcolm Bradbury, originality, critical thinking

© 2021 Noureddine Friji, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Mots clés
academic novel, genius, poetic madness, Malcolm Bradbury, originality, critical thinking