Background
Bowen, Barbara Cherry was born on May 4, 1937 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. Came to the United States, 1962. Daughter of Harold E. and Hilda Edith (Meech) Cannings.
(Of the articles in this volume, eight concern a world-fam...)
Of the articles in this volume, eight concern a world-famous author (Francois Rabelais); the others are studies of little-known authors (Cortesi, Corrozet, Mercier) or genres (the joke, the apophthegm). The common theme, in all but one, is humour: how it was defined, and how used, by orators and humanists but also by court jesters, princes, peasants and housewives. Though neglected by historians, this subject was of crucial importance to writers as different as Luther, Erasmus, Thomas More and Francois Rabelais. The book is divided into four sections. 'Humanist Wit' concerns the large and multi-lingual corpus of Renaissance facetiae. The second and third parts focus on French humanist humour, Rabelais in particular, while the last section is titled '"Serious" Humanists' because humour is by no means absent from it. For the Renaissance, as Erasmus and Rabelais amply demonstrate, and as the 'minor' authors studied here confirm, wit, whether affectionate or bitingly satirical, can coexist with, and indeed be inseparable from, serious purpose. Rabelais, as so often, said it best: 'Rire est le propre de l'homme.'
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0860789543/?tag=2022091-20
(Francois Rabelais (1483?-1553) is a difficult and often m...)
Francois Rabelais (1483?-1553) is a difficult and often misunderstood author, whose reputation for coarse "Rabelaisian" jesting and "Gargantuan" indulgence in food, drink, and sex is highly misleading. He was in fact a committed humanist who expressed strong views on religion, good government, education, and much more through the mock-heroic adventures of his giants. While most books about Rabelais have relatively little to say about his comedic genius, Enter Rabelais, Laughing analyses the many sides of Rabelais's humor, focusing on why his writing was so hilariously funny to sixteenth-century readers. The author begins by discussing how the Renaissance defined laughter and situates Rabelais in a long tradition of literary laughter. Subsequent chapters examine specific contexts relevant to Gargantua and Pantagruel, beginning with the comic aspects of epic, chronicle, mock-epic, and farce, and proceeding to Renaissance and Reformation humanist satire, rhetoric, medicine, and law. All of these chapters combine information, much of it new, on the humanist message Rabelais wanted to convey to his readers, with an analysis of how he used his wit to reinforce his message. Rarely is a writer's work treated in such illuminating detail. On a broad level, Enter Rabelais, Laughing serves as an excellent introduction to French Renaissance literature and exhibits a remarkably charming and lucid writing style, free of jargon. To Rabelais scholars in particular it offers a thorough and innovative analysis that corrects misconceptions and questions commonly held views.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0826513069/?tag=2022091-20
(This small volume is an anthology of Renaissance jokes (c...)
This small volume is an anthology of Renaissance jokes (called facetiae) taken from Latin, Italian, German, Middle French and Middle English collections between 1341 and 1549. This collection is more than a scholarly examination of these texts: it affords a lighter side of Renaissance culture and belles lettres. One of the best selling books in Summa's inventory.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0917786653/?tag=2022091-20
French and comparative literature educator
Bowen, Barbara Cherry was born on May 4, 1937 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. Came to the United States, 1962. Daughter of Harold E. and Hilda Edith (Meech) Cannings.
Master of Arts, Oxford University, England, 1962. Doctor in French Literature, University Paris, 1962.
Instructor French, University of Illinois, Urbana, 1962-1963; assistant professor, University of Illinois, Urbana, 1963-1966; associate professor, University of Illinois, Urbana, 1966-1973; professor, University of Illinois, Urbana, 1973-1987; professor French and comparative literature, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, since 1987.
(Of the articles in this volume, eight concern a world-fam...)
(Francois Rabelais (1483?-1553) is a difficult and often m...)
(This small volume is an anthology of Renaissance jokes (c...)
Member Modern Language Association (member executive council 1978-1981), Central Renaissance Conference (member organization committee), Medieval Association Midwest (member executive council), Renaissance Society of America (president 1996-1998).
Married Vincent E. Bowen, January 12, 1963. Children: Sarah, Tessa.