Wayne Booth Dies

Famous for his theory on literary friendship, Wayne C. Booth passes away Oct.21, 2005. Here is his obituary:

From the Associated Press

Wayne Booth

CHICAGO (AP) - Wayne Booth, a prominent literary critic and professor whose books are required reading at many universities, died Sunday. He was 84. Booth died at his home from complications of dementia, said Josh Schonwald, a spokesman for the University of Chicago, where Booth was a facult y member for more than four decades. Booth's "The Rhetoric of Fiction," published in 1961, is "the single most important American contribution to narrative theory - a book that continues to be read, taught and fought about," Bill Brown, chair of the English department, said in a statement. Other works include "A Rhetoric of Irony" in 1974 and 1988's "The Company We Keep," an influential book on the ethics of fiction. Booth joined the University of Chicago in 1962 after teaching at Haverford College and Earlham College. He also served as dean of the university's undergraduate division from 1964 to 1969. He retired in 1992.