Education

He graduated from Kentucky Wesleyan College, and received his Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the University of Cincinnati.

Career

Spencer wrote wodely on American literature and on Shakespeare but is best remembered for his great book, The Quest for American Nationality. An American Literary Campaign (1957) In 2008, Robert Milder described it as, “an informed and still eminently serviceable account of the multifront ‘campaign’ for a national literature.” The annual The Spencer Lecture is given at Ohio Wesleyan University in his memory and the Spencer Professorship in Literature is named in his honor.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Quest for Nationality: An American Literary Campaign

    (Syracuse University Press, 1957. Hardcover.)

  • The Quest For Nationality. An American Literary Campaign. The Long Struggle For American Literary Independence.