Hamner, Robert D. 1941- (Robert Daniel Hamner)

PERSONAL:

Born January 16, 1941, in Tuscaloosa, AL; son of Robert Felix (a firefighter) and Margaret Louise Hamner; married Carol Ann Elmore (a librarian), August 24, 1963; children: Jared Robert, Ryan Fernando. Ethnicity: "Anglo." Education: Wayland Baptist College, B.A., 1964; University of Texas, M.A., 1966, Ph.D., 1971.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Denton, TX. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Wayland Baptist College, Plainview, TX, instructor in English, 1968-70; Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene, TX, assistant professor, 1971-74, associate professor, 1974-79, professor of English, 1979-96, professor of humanities, 1980-96, senior professor of English and humanities, 1996-2006, professor emeritus, 2007—. University of Guyana, Fulbright professor, 1975-76; Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation, Piper Professor, 1996.

MEMBER:

Joseph Conrad Society of America, Société d'Etude des Pays du Commonwealth, Caribbean Studies Association.

WRITINGS:

V.S. Naipaul, Twayne (New York, NY), 1973.

(Editor) Critical Perspectives on V.S. Naipaul, Three Continents (Washington, DC), 1977.

Derek Walcott, Twayne (New York, NY), 1981, updated edition, 1993.

(Editor and compiler) Joseph Conrad: Third World Perspectives, Three Continents (Washington, DC), 1990.

(Editor and compiler) Critical Perspectives on Derek Walcott, Three Continents (Washington, DC), 1993.

Epic of the Dispossessed: Derek Walcott's Omeros, University of Missouri Press (Columbia, MO), 1997.

Contributor to reference books. Contributor to academic journals.

SIDELIGHTS:

Robert D. Hamner once commented: "My primary focus for research and writing has been the Third World and colonial writing. There are substantial writers in nearly all of the nations that have emerged since World War II; the unique difficulties that these creative writers face in newly independent countries are intriguing.

"What is remarkable is not that societies in turmoil produce fine writers, but that some of the writers have converted their adversities into art that speaks profoundly to man at large. This is one of my sustaining motivations. A second factor that keeps up my interest is the vitality that exists among artists and scholars in this area of study.

"I grew up with a love for the sea and for islands. Whenever time permits, I still enjoy sailing and visiting tropical countries. In my travels to the Pacific Islands (Fiji in 1980) and the Caribbean basin (1975-76, 1981, and into the 2000s), and in my correspondence from around the world, I have sensed the living concerns of people engaged in the processes of formulating their indigenous literature, languages, and critical theories. Specialized bibliographies are especially needed; therefore, I have compiled several to date.

"At the same time, modern technology has made it possible for national writers to address a vast international audience. The best of these have earned a place among the great writers. V.S. Naipaul and Derek Walcott have acquired particular significance. Through their references to Joseph Conrad and my concerns with Conrad as a man who pioneered in the subject matter and settings of the British colonial empire, I have turned my attention to Conrad's influences on other Third World writers.

"My study of fiction, poetry, and drama has extended in recent years to include painting, sculpture, architecture, and cultural expression in general."