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William Meredith, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and emeritus professor, remembered as a "Straight A"

A painting of William Meredith was displayed at his memorial service in Connecticut College´s Harkness Chapel Oct. 5.

October 09, 2007

In a warm chapel on the campus he loved, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet William Meredith was remembered not only for his poetry, but for his stimulating company, his compassionate love and his incredible ability to profoundly impact his students.

"He was so many things to different people, and he played each role well," Richard Harteis, Meredith´s partner of 36 years, said. "I haven´t gotten over his death - and I will never get over his life."

Meredith, widely considered one of the most influential American poets of the 20th century, and an emeritus professor at Connecticut College, passed away May 30 at the age of 88. Connecticut College hosted a celebration of his life Oct. 5 with a memorial service and reception at the liberal arts college in New London, Conn.

Though he consistently described himself as a "B" poet who´d written a few "A" poems, Meredith´s friends, colleagues, former students and fellow poets all agreed he was a "Straight A."

Richard Wilbur, a close friend of Meredith´s, described him as "a modest, affable gentleman whose work could be trusted and whose manners were fine, but easy."

Wilbur, himself a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner, admitted that he envied Meredith´s knowledge, and the way he was able to fashion his poems so they would sound like a serious, witty conversation with friends.

Meredith was the author of 11 collections of poetry, a prose collection, and more than 100 pieces printed in anthologies, books and journals, winning the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1988 for his collection "Partial Accounts." But Meredith spent the majority of his time in the classroom, teaching English at Connecticut College from 1955 until his retirement in 1983.

"His students were surrogate sons and daughters, friends and colleagues," Harteis said. "He loved teaching so much; I think he would have paid the college to let him teach."

One of Meredith´s former students, Michael Collier, a 1976 graduate of Connecticut College and former poet laureate of Maryland, remembered Meredith as "a defender and rescuer, a believer in the lost cause, a stand-taker, a provocateur, and a benefactor."

"He made each of us much better than we had any right to be," Collier said. "Even the flora and the fauna improved under his supervision."

Meredith only retired from teaching after a stroke that immobilized him for two years and left him with lasting expressive aphasia.

Many admired Meredith for his unfailing optimism, even after his stroke left him unable to communicate as he once had.

"The irony of his situation did not escape Meredith, but it never diminished his resolve," Janet Gezari, a close friend of Meredith´s and a fellow professor of English at Connecticut College, said. "Those who knew him after the stroke will remember his courage in the face of obstacles and his unfailing optimism about his progress - and about life."

Perhaps Harteis said it most poetically: "Ultimately, he just found life a good bind to be in."

For more information contact: Amy Martin (860) 439-2526; a.martin@conncoll.edu