Dr. Barry H. Leeds, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at Central Connecticut State University, died on April 15, 2015. Barry was one of the co-founders of the Norman Mailer Society, and served as its Vice President since the Society’s founding in 2003.
He wrote extensively on the life and works of his good friend, Norman Mailer, including his pioneering study, The Structured Vision of Norman Mailer (1969), and The Enduring Vision of Norman Mailer (2002), and countless essays and reviews. In 2014, he published a candid and moving memoir, A Moveable Beast: Scenes from My Life. He also served on the editorial board of The Mailer Review. His many contributions to understanding Mailer the man and Mailer the artist are one of the pillars of Mailer scholarship.
Barry was a genial, interested, and supportive colleague and friend to many, and to honor his critical work and generous friendship the Society established The Barry Leeds Travel Fund in 2015. The Fund helps students attend the Society’s annual conferences, with travel grants of $100 to student presenters, and supports research in Mailer’s archive at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin, with an annual award (most recently $500) to a scholar traveling there. A foundational gift from Dr. Ashley Leeds, Barry’s daughter, who enthusiastically supported the idea of the fund, was received with gratitude. The Fund’s history tells how it began.
If you wish to make a tax-deductible gift in support of the Leeds Travel Fund, please visit our Join & Support page for ways to give, or contact the Society Treasurer at treasurer [at] normanmailersociety [dot] org.