Quinn, Edward 1932–

PERSONAL: Born January 5, 1932, in Brooklyn, NY; son of Edward and Margaret Quinn; married Gail Murphy (a teacher), September 1, 1956; children: Deirdre, Colin, David, Jenny. Education: Brooklyn College (now of the City University of New York), B.A., 1958; New York University, M.A., 1959, Ph.D., 1963.

ADDRESSES: Home—New York, NY.

CAREER: Educator and writer. City College of the City University of New York, New York, NY, assistant professor, 1965–70, associate professor, 1970–75, professor of English, then professor emeritus of English, beginning 1975. Military service: U.S. Army, 1952–53; became sergeant; received Bronze Star.

WRITINGS:

(Editor, with Oscar James Campbell) Reader's Encyclopedia of Shakespeare, Crowell (New York, NY), 1966.

(Editor, with Paul Dolan) The Sense of the Sixties, Free Press (New York, NY), 1968.

(Editor) William Shakespeare, King Lear, Crowell (New York, NY), 1968.

(Editor, with John Gassner) Reader's Encyclopedia of World Drama, Crowell (New York, NY), 1969.

(Editor, with Paul Dolan) Relevants, Free Press (New York, NY), 1970.

(Editor, with Robert Lilienfeld and Rodman Hill) Inter-discipline, Free Press (New York, NY), 1972.

(With James Rooff and Joseph Grennen) The Major Shakespearean Tragedies, Free Press (New York, NY), 1973.

(With Paul Doland) Sense of the Seventies, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1978.

(Editor) How to Read Shakespearean Tragedy, Harper (New York, NY), 1978.

(With Hulon Willis) Basic Usage, Vocabulary, and Composition: Lessons on Usage, Reading Selections, the Practice of Writing, 4th edition, Holt, Rinehart, and Winston (New York, NY), 1983.

(Editor) Responsibilities: A College Reader, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1987.

A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, Facts on File (New York, NY), 1999.

History in Literature: A Reader's Guide to 20th Century History and the Literature It Inspired, Facts on File (New York, NY), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS: In History in Literature: A Reader's Guide to 20th Century History and the Literature It Inspired, retired university professor Edward Quinn alphabetically lists historical events and persons—such as the civil rights movement, the Korean War, Adolf Hitler, and John F. Kennedy—and then the subsequent literature associated with them. Quinn also provides a brief critical analysis of each of the works cited as well as a list of further readings. "Little exists that looks at history from this literary perspective," wrote Terry Ann Mood in Reference & User Services Quarterly. Mood also noted: "Edward Quinn's book is one for browsing." Kim Harris, writing in Library Journal, commented that the author's "concepts are easy to understand" and recommended the volume for use "both in and out of the classroom."

Quinn once told CA: "My books reflect two major interests: Shakespeare, on the one hand, and the quality and style of American life in the past two decades."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, April 15, 2004, Kim Harris, review of History in Literature: A Reader's Guide to 20th-Century History and the Literature It Inspired, p. 75.

Reference & User Services Quarterly, fall, 2004, Terry Ann Mood, review of History in Literature, p. 90.