Biography
BIOGRAPHY FOR DR. WILLIAM L. TARVIN
William L. Tarvin taught literature at the university level for thirty-four years. He has published articles on literature in such scholarly journals as Modern Language Quarterly, Journal of Reading, Essays in Literature, TESOL Quarterly, and Journal of Irish Literature, and on education in International Review of Education, Journal of Curriculum Studies, and The McGill Journal of Education.
He received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from the University of Alabama, where he was a Phi Beta Kappa and its Distinguished Undergraduate Scholar. He taught as a professor of literature at Palm Beach Atlantic College in West Palm Beach, Florida, King Saud University in Saudi Arabia, and Troy University, Dothan, Alabama.
His novel Nothing/Everything Disconnects/Connects, a murder mystery which has a Middle-East setting, was published in October 2009 and is available through Amazon and Borders.
In 2113, he revised it and added notes and commentary to a free online edition of this novel, retitled THE MYSTERIOUS PLUS. It is now available on this website. Simply click the link The Mysterious Plus: Novel. Happy reading!
Retired, he now resides in Gadsden, Alabama, his hometown. He can be reached through this website, tarvinlit.com.
June 17th, 2012 - 22:45
Hello, sir. would it be possible for you to put some handouts discussing different literary theories? Thank you.
June 20th, 2012 - 11:04
Dear Sara,
My British literature Handouts which deal with literary theory are Coleridge, “Biographia”; Dryden, “An Essay”; Eliot, “Tradition”; Johnson, “Preface”; Keats, “Letters”; Keats, “Ode on a”; Pope, “An Essay on Criticism”: Shakespeare, “Shakespeareean Tragedy”; Shelley, “A Defence”; Sidney, “An Apology”; Woolf, “Shakespeare’s”; and Wordsworth, “Preface.”
My American Literature handouts which deal with literary theory are Brooks, “Keats’s”: Frye, “Archetypes”; and Ransom, “Criticism.”
All of these discuss the fours theoretical approaches which a literary critic may use: (1) mimetic approach, which studies how well the literary work imitates the real world; (2) affective approach, which studies the effect of a work on a reader; (3) objective or structural approach, which studies the literary work as a literary work (its theme, characters, plot, etc.); and (4) expressive approach, which studies the ways an author’s life and beliefs are expressed in his/her poem, novel, or short story.
Thank you for your question. I hope my answer is helpful.
Best wishes,
Dr. Tarvin
January 31st, 2012 - 05:03
Dear Professor William Tarvin,
I was in your classes in 1994, 1995 and 1996 in King Saud University.
I am thankful for you. You really were a significant figure in my
whole life.
Your student
Khalid
February 2nd, 2012 - 10:24
Dear Khalid,
Thank you for the kind comments about me. For an old, retired professor, it is always delightful to know that his teaching of literature was appreciated and that he is still remembered.
I enjoyed my years teching in Abha, Saudi Arabia, and carry many wonderful memories of the experience.
I hope that you find my website helpful.
With fondest regards,
Dr. Tarvin