John Carey, Alleyn's School

To celebrate the publication of The Unexpected Professor: An Oxford Life in Books, John Carey shares his personal experiences and literary loves. 

Carey carved his career as both voice of academia, with a lifetime as a professor of English at Oxford, and guide for the reading masses after 40 years as The Sunday Times’ lead book reviewer. This critical pairing saw Carey befriending some of the most esteemed writers of the 20th century, such as Auden, Larkin and Heaney, and sparking a lively literary debate in his controversial book The Intellectuals and the Masses. His anti-elitist tone, further established in his thought-provoking What Good are the Arts?, is defined by a deep sympathy with both reader and writer.

Now 80, Carey reflects upon his journey from grammar school boy to one of Britain’s best-loved critics. In conversation with journalist and author Caroline Sanderson, the emeritus Oxford Professor will discuss the broader role that literature plays in society, as well as discussing his life and career. ‘The vital thing a critic should do, I think, is get across how enjoyable reading is’, Carey says. As both a speaker and writer, he achieves this aim with aplomb.