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SACVAN BERCOVITCH
SACVAN BERCOVITCH
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SACVAN BERCOVITCH Obituary
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Maureen Gannon
May 25, 2015
Ah!!! Saki! I'll always love you!
I learned more form you as a teacher , a friend, and a human being that I have learned from anyone else in my life.
Maureen
January 7, 2015
Our very very deepest sympathies .Sy was Saki's best friend all through their school years in Montreal. He will always be remembered by us.
Sandra and Sy Waldman
Kibbutz Hatzor-Ashdod, Israel
Betsy Jaeger
January 6, 2015
I first heard today. I was a grad student at Columbia and because of him chose to specialize in Early American lit. He remains a beacon of light, an illuminator of meaning, an inspiration, a mentor, a man with a deep and kind neshama. We last corresponded by email in 2010. I send my tearful condolences to his family but also to all who knew and loved him as I did.
Giuseppe Nori, AISNA President
December 26, 2014
The Italian Association of North American Studies (AISNA) mourns the loss of Sacvan Bercovitch, one of the most influential and transformative scholars of the second half of the twentieth century, and gives the warmest condolences to his wife Susan and his sons Sascha and Eytan.
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Giuseppe Nori
December 26, 2014
Sacvan Bercovitch was an exceptional teacher and mentor, at once generous and rigorous, a model of intellectual honesty and a source of inspiration and direction in difficult times. Sacvan Bercovitch was also 'Saki,' a man who could turn a relation with former students into "a bond that stands out as an example of the privilege of teaching."
RIP Saki.
Joyce Rowe
December 13, 2014
I share the sentiments of all who speak of Saki as a marvel of a teacher and a dear man. I knew him as a graduate student at Columbia,was inspired by him to pursue a PhD in American Literature, and to then model my teaching after his example. He was an original. I am so glad to have been able to see him two years ago in Boston and join in the celebration of his life. Warm condolences to his family and all who loved him.
Rafia Zafar
December 13, 2014
My profoundest sympathies to Susan Mizruchi, Sascha, Eytan, and the family. I remember the evening before my orals walking across Cambridge Common and talking with Saki about the transparent eyeball; it remains one of the highlights of my intellectual life. Sacvan Bercovitch, z"l. Rafia Zafar
Ed Simon
December 13, 2014
From a young scholar, Dr. Bercovitch was one of the true greats. I write not a word that isn't influenced by him (I only hope I can offer a fraction of his insight). Yit'gadal v'yit'kadash sh'mei raba.
Howard Segal
December 12, 2014
I first met Saki when, as a graduate student at Princeton in the early 1970's, I had the opportunity of taking his seminar on American literature in his capacity as a visiting professor. I learned so much--not just in terms of appreciating a towering intellect but also in terms of appreciating that an academic star can still be a mensch.
Prof. Howard Segal, University of Maine
Christoph Irmscher
December 12, 2014
I loved Saki. He welcomed me to Cambridge over two decades ago. He was one of the kindest and warmest people I have known and had an uncanny way of cheering you up when you were down. He left me a phone message once that was so wonderful that I have saved the tape to this day, although the answering machine is long gone. I have moved four times since, but I know exactly where that tape is (and I always will). My condolences to his family.
Pleun Bouricius
December 11, 2014
Goodbye Saki. You taught me to read. I will never forget.
Shirley Sun
December 11, 2014
Now whenever I look at the starry skies, I will think of you, Professor Bercovitch. To me, you are one of the brightest stars in the firmament of American literature, and I am honored to have studied with you. As a teacher and mentor, you have touched me with your kindness and generosity, and I will remember to pay it forward.
Hana Wirth-Nesher
December 11, 2014
Dear Susan, Sascha, Eytan,
Saki was an inspiring mentor, a generous friend, and a model of an intellectual with a warm heart. He was very generous to me over the years, and I will always feel grateful for his support and friendship. I send my condolences, and am sorry that I cannot be there with you at this time. He will be a blessed memory for me, and so many others.
Hana
Carolyn Porter
December 11, 2014
Dear Susan, Eytan, Sascha,
I always thought he was immortal. I still do.
Carolyn
Boston, July 2009
Frank Albers
December 11, 2014
Saki was the greatest teacher I ever had, a wonderful man, sharp and funny and sincere. I owe him more than I can say. My condolences to his family.
December 11, 2014
My great mentor and friend...
Frank Albers, Belgium
Evan Carton
December 10, 2014
I've just heard this sad news from a friend in Boston. As others have written here and many more will write and speak in the coming weeks, Saki was a peerlessly generous mentor and friend to students, colleagues, and younger scholars. What Americanist of the generation or two or three that followed him does not owe him a personal as well as an intellectual debt? It has been almost two years since I, in company with many of his other admirers and beneficiaries, last saw and honored him. To call him to mind, at whatever distance, is to feel again the palpable presence of his warmth and gentle wit. Sincere condolences to Susan and Saki's family. His memory, like his life and work, is sure to be a blessing to all who knew him and whom he touched.
Ezra Greenspan
December 10, 2014
Agreed: he was a mensch. He helped launch my career. While serving as a visiting Fulbright scholar in the English Department at Tel Aviv University in 1988-89, he offered to read my book ms. on Walt Whitman, asked if I had a publisher and when I said I did not, inquired whether I would like him to put in a good word with Al Gelpi for Cambridge UP. I did, he made the overture, and the work got published in 1990. Ezra Greenspan, Dallas, TX
Riv ka B utov sky
December 10, 2014
Mesh was Saki's presentor at Concordia U. upon receiving his doctorate. I was reflecting on their
friendship upon reading this presentation. Their's
is a history of mutual respect and affection.
My deepest condolences. Rivka Butovsky
Mindy Waizer
December 10, 2014
Sincerest condolences to Professor Bercovitch's family, from all of us at Transaction Publishers. We recently published his book, "The Office of the Scarlet Letter," with a new preface he wrote just last year. We are sorry to bid farewell to such a gifted and influential scholar.
Reiner Smolinski
December 10, 2014
My sincere condolences to Professor Bercovitch's family. Please know that his research and warm personality have inspired whole generations of younger scholars. He keeps on giving to all of us!
Rachelle Friedman
December 10, 2014
Saki was so welcoming to me when I first came to Harvard as a visiting grad student. He listened and counseled and encouraged me. His scholarship flows through my dissertation and my teaching. Sincerest condolences to his family; may his memory be for a blessing.
December 10, 2014
How lucky we were to have known him! He had an exceptional mind and a great sense of irony, Our deep condolences to Susan and the whole family.
Alicia Borinsky and Jeffrey Mehlman
Bryan Waterman
December 10, 2014
Deepest condolences to Susan, Sascha, and the rest of Saki's family. I'm thrilled to have had the chance to meet and work with him -- and to watch him work -- during my time as Susan's student. Much love from me, Stephanie, and all our family.
John Norman
December 9, 2014
Goodbye, Saki. I learned so much from you.
Mark Simpson-Vos
December 9, 2014
Sincerest condolences to you, Susan, and all of Professor Bercovitch's dear family and friends, on behalf of my colleagues at the University of North Carolina Press.
John Matteson
December 9, 2014
Professor Bercovitch changed my life. Both as a superb scholar and as a peerless mentor, he opened my eyes to a world of wonder. Much of what I have done and who I am began with his Melville seminar in 1985. May heaven bless him.
Cathy Davidson
December 9, 2014
My deepest sympathy to Susan and all who loved Sackie. He was incredibly kind, supportive, and generous to me as I was starting my career as an Americanist and I still think with such fondness of our many conversations over the years. A mensch, through and through."
Stephen Greenblatt
December 9, 2014
My deepest condolences to Susan and the family, Sackie was a marvelous man, warm, subtle, and complex. He was for me and for many, many others the epitome of intellectual honesty, scholarly acumen, and unfailing decency.
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