Adrian Suarez Avila/ News Director
Faculty of the English Department, alongside students and members of the University community, met on Thursday, Feb. 12, for a memorial honoring Phillip Marcus, a professor of English who died on Saturday, Jan. 10.
Leading the memorial was James Sutton, chair of the English Department and associate professor of English.
According to Sutton, the memorial was organized to not only honor the memory of Marcus but to also give all of those who knew him the chance to talk about him, read poetry, and talk about the impact he had on their lives as professors, students and lovers of literature.
While Sutton was in charge of overseeing the event’s coordination, he received help from other faculty members in the English department, as well as current students and alumni who knew Marcus.
He admitted that what took place at the memorial was exactly what he had in mind.
He wanted to host an informal event in which those who knew Marcus would have an opportunity to share stories about the times they spent with him.
To give those affected by the loss a chance to find comfort in one another’s stories was also an aim of Sutton’s.
Sutton admitted that although he didn’t know Marcus nearly as well as some of his students did, he did get to know Marcus on a personal level as a fellow lover of poetry.
He joked that he got along with Marcus from the beginning of his time at the University, even though Marcus received his graduate degree from Harvard and he from Yale, never letting the rivalry get between their friendship.
He informed those in attendance that the University’s English Department looked forward to bring Marcus on board after he left Cornell University in the 1990s and met with a University faculty member while visiting the Florida Keys.
At that time the Department was particularly excited about welcoming Marcus, an expert on the writings of William Butler Yeats.
He mentioned that what Marcus cared most about was being in the classroom with his students, never wanting to teach online courses.
An email that Marcus sent to his students last fall was read at the memorial.
“I’ve missed you all terribly, and I very much look forward to seeing all you again soon,” read the email.
Sutton used the email as an example to call attention to how much Marcus cared for his students and how we was thinking about them while he was sick.
Sutton also read emails that past students of Marcus sent the professor, expressing their gratitude for the impact that he had on their professional, academic, and personal lives.
Speaking in regards to dealing with loss, Sutton said that one way of dealing with Marcus’ death was by doing exactly what took place at the memorial in a way that Marcus would have found fitting: getting together and sharing stories in an informal setting.
Among those in attendance was Patrick Marcus, one of Marcus’ three children.
Patrick brought with him the first copy of James Joyce’s novel “Ulysses” that his father ever purchased.
Inside of it was Marcus’ last Starbucks card, which he utilized to buy coffee for his students during his informal coffee hours.
Patrick, encouraging students to read the inscription on the book, containing the date that he first read the book, said that he believed that the first love his father could accept was found in the pages of Ulysses at the age of 20.
“He gave a relationship to each of you that is unchangeable,” said Patrick. “I want to do honor to the relationship you already had with him.”
He then went on to share stories about how he spent his days prior to his father’s death.
Following Patrick’s portion of the memorial were recollections of Marcus delivered by Cindy Sepulveda, a student of Marcus who graduated from the University in 2003 with a Bachelor’s degree in English, and Michael Gillespie, professor of English.
Finishing his portion of the event with a reading of William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 65”, Sutton encouraged all those who wanted to share words or a story about Marcus to step up to the podium.
Among those who spoke was Jenny Parra Fuerte, a junior English education major.
She admitted that Marcus was a man who touched her deeply, not just when he taught her literature, but when he got to know her as a person.
He made it no secret that he cared for his students, said Parra Fuerte, who added that Marcus encouraged her habit of speaking in vernacular and made her feel like someone who deserved to be at a university.
The remainder of the memorial consisted of current students and alumni sharing stories about their time with Marcus.
“We will continue to remember him, and hold him dear,” said Sutton.
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