Demetres

When I read your email my immediate thought was "No!!"

I think you are aware of the many courtesies and encouragement that Dr.
Hatlen extended to me a non-academic lover of Pound literature.  His
friendly manner and willingness to spend time with me at various conferences
made me really feel a part of the international Pound community.  I will
always remember with fondness the hour we spent together in the office of
the National Poetry Foundation going over the various books available from
the foundation.  I left with an arm full of unpaid for books (I did pay for
them by mail later).  At various conferences he always seemed to seek me out
with a smiling face.  I always knew, no matter how intimidating the
surroundings, that if Burt was there I had at least one genuine friend.

I will miss him

Richard Seddon 
  

-----Original Message-----
From: - Ezra Pound discussion list of the University of Maine
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tryphonopoulos, Demetres
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 8:52 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Announcement: Burt Hatlen passes away on 21 January 2008

Dear Poundians,

It is with great sadness that I send along the news to Poundians around the
globe that
my good friend and colleague Burt Hatlen passed away yesterday afternoon (21
January
2008) at a Bangor, Maine hospital.  As many of you will know, Burt had been
undergoing
chemotherapy and was unable to fight off the pneumonia that brought him to
the hospital
a week or so ago.

At the time of his death, Burt was surrounded by family, including his wife
Virginia and
his daughters Julia and Inger.  Though the family wishes for privacy at the
moment, I am
certain that sympathy cards would be appreciated.  For those of you who wish
to write,
here is the address: Virginia Nees-Hatlen, 491A College Avenue, Orono, Maine
04473.

Those of you who would like to say something about Burt and his life as a
scholar,
editor, conference organizer, friend and promoter of contemporary poets and
of younger
scholars may address their comments to me and I'll make sure that they are
presented to
Virginia and his daughters-better yet, such comments may be send to all
through this
list.
 
The family will have a private memorial, with a more public event planned
for this
summer or fall.  An obituary will be published in the Bangor Daily News
tomorrow or the
next day at http://www.bangordailynews.com/; it will include information
about Burt's
wishes for memorial donations.

I myself have known Burt for approximately twenty years and am very sad to
lose, above
all else, his good humor, his modest but sure way of representing himself
and his ideas
about literature, and-above all-his immense knowledge and range in matters
pertaining to
modernist and contemporary poetry.  In some important ways, he is
responsible for the
way we have been thinking about and discussing modernist and contemporary
poetry over
the past couple of decades.

Demetres P. Tryphonopoulos

Dr. Demetres P. Tryphonopoulos
A/Dean, School of Graduate Studies
Professor, Department of English
Book Review Editor, Paideuma: Studies in American and British Modernist
Poetry
University of New Brunswick
Sir Howard Douglas Hall, Room 317
3 Bailey Drive
Fredericton, N.B.
Canada E3B 5A3
Tel.: 506-453-4673
Fax: 506-453-4817
E-mail: [log in to unmask]