Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson was a major force in 18th century English writing and a fascinating man in his own right, the subject of a landmark biography by his friend James Boswell, and a literary critic given to colorful pronouncements. Of the celebrated novel Clarissa he said, “if you read it for the plot you would hang yourself.” And in his famous dictionary he wasn’t above putting personal opinions in some of the definitions. In the hour to come, UW English Professor Howard Weinbrot will tell us about the coloful life and opinions of Samuel Johnson.