Biography
Paul H. Fry is the William Lampson Professor of English Emeritus at Yale University, where he taught for 47 years (1971-2018). A specialist in British Romanticism, literary criticism, and contemporary literary theory, he is the author of The Poet's Calling in the English Ode, which won the Melville Cane Award, and Wordsworth and the Poetry of What We Are. His Open Yale Course "Introduction to Theory of Literature" became widely viewed online and he won the Kennedy Center's Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teaching Award in 2011.
Sample Works
- Theory of Literature (2012) Book
- Wordsworth and the Poetry of What We Are (2008) Book
- A Defense of Poetry: Reflections on the Occasion of Writing (1995) Book
- The Poet's Calling in the English Ode (1980) Book
- Introduction to Theory of Literature (Open Yale Course) (2009) Other
Roundtable Appearances
February 21, 2026 · ▶ Video
Why We Write
The roundtable explores motivations behind writing through philosophical and literary lenses. The discussion examines how written words convey meaning, ranging from literal...
Elizabeth Birkelund, Michael Frank, Paul Fry, Eric Lindstrom, Joseph Luzzi, Honor Moore
