Herb Coursen ’54 died December 3, 2011.
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HERB COURSEN ’54
Herb’s death on Dec. 3, 2011, took one of our most accomplished scholars and writers, a friend to many who often enjoyed his lively correspondence and visits. Those of us who shared his devotion to Shakespeare also lost a generous and valued colleague.
Herb was born in Newark, N.J., in 1932, to Mildred Huntoon and Herbert Randolph Coursen. After Amherst and service in the U.S. Air Force as a fighter pilot, he earned an M.A. from Wesleyan University and, in 1965, a Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut. At Amherst, he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon and Sphinx.
His long career as an outstanding teacher of English took him to Newark Academy, the Choate School, the University of Connecticut, Bowdoin College (where he was chairman of the English department), the University of London, the Globe Centre (London), Clemson University, Ohio University, Southern New Hampshire University, University of Maine at Augusta and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. In 1996, in a poll conducted by Penn State University, he was named one of the 25 “Master Teachers of Shakespeare” in the United States, Canada and Great Britain for the past 100 years. He published 35 novels, 31 books of poetry and 16 critical books on Shakespeare.
An early and vocal opponent of America’s war in Vietnam, he was an original member of Veterans for Peace.
He leaves three daughters, Elizabeth, of Sarasota, Fla.; Susan Leigh of Tampa, Fla.; and Virginia Wyatt of Sarasota, Fla., and four grandchildren, Susan, Bruce and Maggie Wyatt and Katey Coursen. His companion of 20 years, Pamela Mount, died in March 2011.
The unedited version of Herb’s “auto-obituary” is posted on both our chat site and on the class website, and many personal recollections and memorials from other classmates may be found in both places (and others would be welcome).
—Thomas Blackburn ’54