"Carey is extremely well read, and uses his impressive knowledge to point out some of the sillinesses of writers, such as in their attacks on "tinned food" and cremation as possible causes for the decline of British civilization. He is a healthy questioner of received opinions. It forces one to rethink one's preconceptions."
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Literary criticsPeople from LondonUniversity of Oxford facultyFellows of the Royal Society of LiteratureFellows of the British Academy
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John Carey
John Carey (5 April 1934 – 11 December 2025) was a British literary critic, and Merton Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford from 1975 (emeritus from 2001). He was known for his anti-elitist views on high culture, as expounded in several books, twice chairing the Booker Prize committee, in 1982 and 2003, and chaired the judging panel for the first Man Booker International Prize in 2005.
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