Tributes to Al Labriola, Part II
March 15, 2009
Thanks again to Nancy Charlton for collecting more comments on Al Labriola. -KC
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:56:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: Nancy Charlton
I truly wish I might have known him, but I am quite aware of his formidable contributions to Milton scholarship and Renaissance studies generally.
This morning I had a free hour, and at the suggestions of several, stated in what would be the optative voice in Greek, I have compiled all these tributes into a tidy document. I expect it will grow–indeed, four more came in since I started–but I do have an 11-page document ready to go. Much too long to put into a post, but I’d be glad to attach it to a message upon request. Perhaps someone who knows the family could send it along to them.
Al Labriola, STTL.
Nancy Charlton
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Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:53:54 -0500 (GMT-05:00)
From: Diane McColley
I am short of words and aching of heart. Like others, I was encouraged as a novice by Al Labriola, the first editor to accept an article,
and have long enjoyed his gracious warmth, abundant knowledge, and kind attention to the well-being of what he has made the Milton community.
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Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 18:49:22 -0500
From: Sara van den Berg
Like so many others, I received much kindness and support from Al
Labriola over the years. He was always at the desk to welcome
everyone to the Milton Society dinners at MLA, and set a warm and
gracious tone for those special gatherings. I mourn the passing of a
warm, generous, gentle, learned man.
Sara van den Berg
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Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:35:55 -0500
From: CHARLES DURHAM
Kris and I were devastated to learn of Al’s death. He supported both of us in all our endeavors and was a good friend of the Murfreesboro Milton Conference, having served on the panel once and once as the featured speaker. We last met with him in San Francisco at the Milton Society dinner, when he assured us that he was doing extremely well and planned to be in Mufreesboro in October, if he could work around his reunion with his Vietnam buddies in Georgia. He was a prince among men and a star in the community of Milton scholars. We will miss him more than words can say.
Goodbye Al, and Love to Regina and family,
Charley and Kris
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Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 23:11:19 -0400
From: lostatom@aol.com
For those of you who may not be aware, I just wanted to let you know that The Duquesne Duke is also accepting comments to their front page article about Dr. Labriola today. Thus far, five have been posted. I hope that Nancy Charlton continues to compile our comments shared here as they are so much a manifestation of the depth and richness of Dr. Al’s life and the impact of this precious gift to humanity as felt by all who have known and loved him. I believe Regina and the rest of Dr. Labriola’s family would appreciate receiving these, our memories and thoughts.
Someone earlier asked for the location of the official university statement. I found it at http://www.newsroom.duq.edu.
I have always felt deeply honored to have known Dr. Labriola as professor, scholar, teacher, mentor and friend. Even though I am still in shock and feel totally inept to grasp the exact words to convey this great loss, I take some consolation in knowing that I am not walking this path of intense and immense grieving alone. I cherish each and every one of your postings.
Sincerely,
Aleta Konkol
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Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:55:48 +0900 (KST)
From: Byung-Eun Lee
Dear Miltonists,
I am not sure that I am a right person to write this obituary
notice: Professor Hideyuki Shitaka of Hirosima Women’s Univerity,
Japan, went back his eternal home on Feb. 21.
I received this sad news from Japanese scholars few days ago, and
the obituary of Dr. Labriola reminds me to let you know about his death.
For those who do not know Professor Shitaka well: he was the author
of “Milton’s Idea of the Son in the Shaping of Paradise Lost as a
Christocentric Epic” (Eihosha, Tokyo 1996) and a committee member of
Milton International Symposium. He also was a good friend of the
Association of Milton and Early Modern English Studies of Korea.
As a mourner of Professor Shitaka and Dr. Labriola,
Byung-Eun Lee, Ph.D
English Department
Hansung University, Seoul, Korea
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Fri Mar 13 12:04:11 EDT 2009
Kemmer Anderson
Byung-Eun, I have just spent time helping Hyunkee Kim outline and
prepare a paper on the death of Patroclus.
I remember hearing Professor Shitaka’s paper on Saturday morning in
Grenoble and the conversation with John Shawcross and Richard
DuRocher after his paper on Paradise Regained and how to fit Samson
in my curriculum as well as the Son’s stand. What amazes me is the
connectivity we have in this profession that all leads back beyond
what we write and learn from each other and how it connects to our
students who grow into the men and women of their calling. We are
truly graced to be called to this profession and to have such a
beacon as Milton and his mentors Homer and Virgil that we may attempt
to carry light into the darkness. Thanks to all who have taught me
how this blind poet is a hero as we all engage in the process of
teaching the epic to young people.
Kemmer
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Thu Mar 12 15:24:04 EDT 2009
Stephen Fallon
Among the many tasks that Al Labriola shouldered in and for the Milton
Society was that of unofficial eulogist. At MSA dinners he would
speak eloquently of one or another of our number whose journey’s end
was come. He knew himself to sing. I am sure that many old friends
will strive for the honor of sending Al off at the 2009 dinner, and I
can imagine more than one stepping to the podium. If only one can
speak, I’m sure that many of us would like to hear from Michael Lieb.
My first encounter with Al, at an MSA dinner in the early 80s,
resembled that of others who have commented today. Here was a “name,”
an accomplished and established Miltonist, who exerted himself to make
a green, unpublished graduate student feel at home. One could not
help but sense both his gravity and his kindness. It took a bit
longer, for me at least, to realize that his pose of unusual formality
contained a healthy dollop of self-deprecating humor. Al, who could
be the most dryly funny of Miltonists, was capable of sending himself
up. I’ll never forget his suggestion that we telephone each other
(“we must establish telephonic communication”). We did not merely
both work at Catholic universities, we were “both employed by Catholic
institutions of higher learning.” His humor was always good-humored,
and I don’t recall him being less than generous to others.
He was a scholar and a gentleman.
Steve Fallon
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Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 08:54:04 -0500
From: srevard
I want to second Steve’s suggestion. Of late the eulogies for
Miltonists who passed during the year have been brief. Al was
the face of the Milton Society and we should honor him in a
special way this year. If Michael would speak, that would be
a special honor in itself, for he is Thyrsis to Al’s Damon.
Stella Revard
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Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 09:59:30 -0500
From: John Rumrich
Stella is right (as usual). But Al wasn’t just the face of the
Society; he was its marrow. Many have written touchingly of what a
thoroughly good and artful man he was and remains, as we remember
him. It is difficult for me to imagine how the Milton Society will
manage without Al, though I must suppose it will. So long as I’ve
been a member, he’s been the one quietly and generously holding it
together. Maybe a fitting tribute would be to retire the title of
“secretary.” Another name can be found for the post that no one is
going to be able to fill in the same deft, droll, and humane manner.
John
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Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 09:49:44 -0500
From: David Ainsworth
Devastating news for me as well. “Scholar and a gentleman” was the
first phrase that came to my mind to describe Al as well. Few will
accomplish so much, and none, I suspect, with greater humility.
For me, Al IS the Milton Society of America. I first met him when he
was opening speaker for the 2001 MTSU conference. I was questioning my
choice of career after the 9/11 attacks, wondering if scholarship would
really make the world a better place. After hearing his talk and
speaking with him afterwards, I was reassured. For me, Al embodied the
good that scholarship can accomplish in the world.
Generous to a fault (but without the fault), precise, not just mannered
but mannerly, with a markedly wry and dry sense of humor, Al never made
me feel less than a colleague. Thinking again about his talk at the
last MSA dinner about the Milton Society awards, I can’t help but think
how apt it was that his last speech to us stressed that he saw each of
us as gifted, even if some had not yet received official recognition.
The awards he instituted were not trophies, but gifts. It takes someone
truly special to think in that way.
I keep searching for Miltonic words but my mind keeps dragging me back
to King Lear instead. Al’s death is a tragedy for all of us who remain;
his life a triumph he shared with us while he was here.
I can’t help but feel that when we turn to “pastures new,” we’ll find
that Al was there before us.
David
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Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:52:36 -0400
From: James Rovira
I’m hoping at some point someone considers a festschrift.
Jim R
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Fri Mar 13 11:05:35 EDT 2009
Julia Richman
Jim – a marvelous and profound “idea” – regarding the “festschrift.”
Thanks for sharing.
Julianne Richman
Hamlet of Pt. Clark
Ontario (Canada)
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Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:50:00 -0400
From: James Rovira
At this point it’d be a Gedenkschrift, wouldn’t it? It’s an obvious
thing to do, though. I hope the appropriate person steps forward soon
and starts soliciting material. It should also include a complete
bibliography of Prof. Labriola’s work and perhaps a list of works
citing his work.
Jim R
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Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:46:22 -0500
From: Jameela Lares
If anyone goes with this idea, they should realize that Festshriften are no longer being published -qua- Festshcriften. They need to have a thematic focus like any other edited collection of essays.
Jameela Lares
Professor of English
The University of Southern Mississippi
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Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:56:10 -0400
From: James Rovira
Thanks for pointing this out, Jameela. Sandy Gourlay’s festschrift
for John Grant might be a useful model:
Prophetic Character: Essays on William Blake in Honor of John E.
Grant. West Cornwall, CT: Locust Hill Press, 2002.
Very good collection. Wouldn’t Duquesne UP be willing to do something
like this? It’d be appropriate.
Jim R
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Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:15:28 -0500
From: Jesse Swan
Apropos festschrift publishing, here’s a recently posted bit, from a
(Christian) editor / publisher:
http://addenda-errata.ivpress.com/2009/03/the_great_festschrift_makeover.php
jesse
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Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:53:37 -0400
From: “David Urban”
Dear All,
Please let me add my voice to the many sorrowful mourners of Al’s passing. He was so gracious, so magnanimous, so humble. I’m having a very hard time right now imagining the Milton scholarly scene without him. I know I am not alone in saying that I feel such a debt of gratitude to him.
Sincerely,
David
Dr. David Urban
Assistant Professor of English
Calvin College
Grand Rapids, MI 49546
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Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 19:56:50 -0400
From: duran0
Dear scholars,
I plan on getting a hold of the article written by Hideyuki Shitaka, whose
works I have never read. Thank you to my unknown colleagues across the world
for telling me of their loss so that I may gain.
Many thanks.
Adios, Angelica Duran
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Date: Sat, 14 Mar 2009 02:50:43 +0000
From: Greg Lowe
My spirits are truly dampened to learn of our loss. I had the opportunity to participate in Dr. Labriola’s NEH Summer Seminar “Paradise Lost and the Contemporary Reader” in the summer of 1990. It was a great time and I had been making plans to drop by western PA to sit in on a session of the seminar that had been planned for this summer. I had been imagining what I would feel in experiencing the joy however briefly of revisiting those old times and then perhaps to arrange a lunch with Dr. Labriola (I can still hear him saying “call me Al”). And then I get this news today and then “…Astonied stood and blank, while horrour chill / Ran through his veins, and all his joints relaxed; / From his slack hand the garland… / Down dropt, and all the faded roses shed: / Speechless he stood and pale,” and I know that “Earth felt the wound; and Nature from her seat, / Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe…” I expect that Dr Labriola might feel that I overstate here, but !
great loss is great loss whether it be Eve for Adam or Al for all of us.
Greg Lowe
Collins Hill High School
Suwanee, Georgia
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Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:28:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: Louise Simons
Deep thanks to all the Milton specialists who have so eloquently expressed my own grateful feelings about Al Labriola. He gave me every chance, he had faith in me. As many have already mentioned, he had the gift of intimacy, and he shared his life with us. He treasured Regina and was proud of her dedication to their family and also to her difficult job as principal of a needy school that she had been specifically and urgently asked to head. Al was happy in his profession. He easily told self-deprecating stories, even as he held positions of great trust and was a scholar of high repute. He calmed my chronic worries about his health. To my email that I hoped he was breathing well, on Wednesday at 10:22 he wrote of his Monday hospital discharge and plans for Friday travel home. He said, “My breathing seems expansive.” Shortly, his life was over. It’s painfully hard to realize he’s gone.
Years ago Al Labriola and Ed Sichi invited me to attend my first Spenser luncheon with them. The night before, the Milton dinner had been sumptuous. The Spenser lunch was cafeteria style. We carried thin paper plates down the line, being served swill from large square metal heating troughs. We sat at long tables and ate carefully, using flimsy plastic knives, forks, and spoons. After the meal, the elderly women who had served carried around black plastic trash bags for us to toss our garbage into. Al’s eyebrows were raised ironically as the women carried off the full bags.
The Spenser speaker stood up. He made a virtue of the luncheon’s informality and said pointedly, “At least we don’t wear three-piece suits, the way they do at the Milton dinner.” On one side of me, Ed’s body gave a jolt. On my other side, Al, in his usual three-piece suit, stiffened. His face turned deep red. The speaker warmed to his topic. Working up a full head of steam, he began to weave from side to side, getting closer and closer to the two heavy candle holders and the lit candles. Finally, he managed to set himself on fire. Of course I was horrified, but at the same time, it was really hard to hold down my giggles and my amazement at the swift retribution.
When we left the luncheon and were walking away, Al turned to me and asked meaningfully, Since I had been at both the Milton dinner and the Spenser luncheon, how would I rate them in comparison to each other. His eyes twinkled. He imitated me carefully stowing my soggy paper plate, still laden with my uneaten lunch, in the garbage bag. Al was thinking primarily of the food because he and the treasurers, year after year, on a tight budget, planned such lovely banquets. I recalled the speeches, droning on and on as it seemed to a new Miltonist, and I thought that for after-meal entertainment, there truly was no comparison.
I loved Al, and I already miss him.
Louise
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This tribute appeared on the SHAKSPER list on Friday 13 March:
The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 20.0110 Friday, 13 March 2009
From: Carol Barton
Date: Thursday, 12 Mar 2009 18:48:05 -0400
Subject: Loss of Prof. Alabriola
I don’t know if any of you knew him, but tonight the world is diminished by the loss of another incredibly good soul. Al Labriola died Wednesday morning, and will be sadly mourned and missed by all of us fortunate enough to have called him friend, colleague, and teacher.
I have no words with which to mourn his loss, but I feel it deeply and profoundly nonetheless.
The announcement is at http://www.theduquesneduke.com/
Carol Barton, Ph.D.
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Comments
One Response to “Tributes to Al Labriola, Part II”
The world of Milton studies has grown a little darker with Al’s passing. He was a great colleague and a good guy. I can’t imagine a Milton dinner without him. My deepest sympathies to his family in this difficult time.
Stephen