Seamus Perry

Seamus Perry is a Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford and a Fellow and Tutor at Balliol College. He holds roles as General Editor of the Oxford edition of William Empson's works and the series '21st-Century Oxford Authors.' His research focuses on English Romantic poetry (Coleridge, Wordsworth), post-Romantic poets (Tennyson, Auden), and the intersection of political thought with 19th-century poetry. He has published critical editions of Matthew Arnold (2020) and William Empson's 'Some Versions of Pastoral' (2020). Perry co-edits the journal 'Essays in Criticism' and contributes to literary publications like the London Review of Books.

Education: BA (1989) and PhD (1995) from St Catherine's College, Oxford. Previously held positions as Oakeshott Junior Research Fellow at Lincoln College and Lecturer/Reader at the University of Glasgow before joining Balliol in 2003. Current projects include an intellectual biography of W.H. Auden and a volume of essays on poetry for Princeton University Press.

Teaching covers undergraduate modules on English Literature (1660–present) and graduate supervision in Romanticism, Victorian poetry, and 20th-century poetry. Active in mentoring doctoral students focusing on Hazlitt, manuscript culture, and major Romantic figures.