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Brooklyn College Columbia University Pace University

DAVID CASTRONOVO Obituary

CASTRONOVO--Professor David A., 65, of Manhattan died suddenly on November 19. The C. Richard Pace Professor at Pace University in New York City where he taught English literature and composition for more than 30 years, David was the author of a dozen books on literary subjects, including Blokes: The Bad Boys of British Literature (2009). His first book, Edmund Wilson, was named a New York Times Notable Book in 1985. The week he died his review of Christopher Hitchens' memoir Hitch-22 appeared in Commonweal and was billed on its cover. David attended Brooklyn College and received his Masters and Ph.D. in English from Columbia University. A specialist in Victorian studies, he wrote his dissertation on the English gentleman, a subject that he expanded upon and turned into a book in 1987. He is survived by his sister Val, his brother-in-law Alan Waxman, his niece Olivia, and a legion of friends, many of whom he mentored. David's kindness, erudition and rapier wit will be greatly missed. A funeral mass will be held Wednesday at 11:30am at St. Ignatius Loyola Church at 84th and Park Avenue. Please consider donations in David's memory to the English Department at Pace University or Columbia University's Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by New York Times on Nov. 22, 2010.

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for DAVID CASTRONOVO

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Mary Karidis

January 25, 2013

My first college Professor. I was 43 and all my classmates were 19 yrs and younger. Dr. Castronovo and those students encouraged me to continue and I am now an RN. I thank God I had the opportunity to call and thank him for his guidance and to let him know, because of his encouragement, I continued on...May God Bless him and ease the pain of loss to the family he leaves behind.My love always, Dr. Castronovo...Mary K

George Leonard

June 18, 2011

As the news of David Castronovo's passing spreads slowly through the academic world many will feel the sense of loss I feel. I had the unforgettable experience of being David's classmate in John D. Rosenberg's Victorian seminar at Columbia in the 1960s. David and I were friends afterward. David was the titan of the seminar, already a human Internet of learning forty years before the real one, and we relied on him to settle any debated points. He wasn’t just facts, of course. Anyone who has read his books knows how original and imaginative his interpretations were. He left his mark on modern scholarship. I discovered David’s passing when I went to the Amazon site to post a rave review of Blokes and his whole imaginative “blokes” concept, which I originally had written in the Wall Street Journal. So he was brilliant, yes, way back in his Columbia days, we all knew he would be an influential scholar, but what intrigued me was that—contrary to what I might have assumed-- David was one of the most confident, happiest people I’d ever met. His was a life brilliantly and productively lived, no question-- but it was also a life so happily lived. When I asked myself “why” I noticed that to be his friend was to know, through anecdotes, affectionate stories about his whole family, in those days starting with his mother. I realized back then that David had had the good fortune to be born into a remarkable family, and his great personal happiness flowed, in some measure, from them. He was not only a brilliant man, and a good man, he was a lucky man. What an enviable life. George J. Leonard, PhD Columbia 1972, Professor of Interdisciplinary Humanities, San Francisco State University.

Jillian

May 4, 2011

I'm at a loss for words. To the friends and family of so knowledgeable and fiercely intelligent a man, my deepest condolences go out to you. I was fortunate enough to have Dr. Castronovo as a professor. He is the reason why I ultimately chose to major in English, and his lessons continue to permeate my life even to this day, years later. You will be missed, but your spirit never forgotten! Thank you for leaving so great a mark on my life.

Janet Groth

December 5, 2010

I am here today to perform an impossible task. To try to do justice to the life of David Castronovo, a beautiful human being, a great soul, and a wonderful writer. As most of you know, I had the privilege of sharing authorship with David on three of his eleven books, all three on the American critic Edmund Wilson. We liked to speak of ours as the most harmonious collaboration ever. And certainly the days and hours we put in together were the greatest pleasure of my working life. Whatever merit my own writing, post Wilson, has, is owed to the master class David gave in each of those sessions. He was always gentle in suggesting we go at a cumbersome sentence "to unpack it." But most of the academic baggage we unpacked was mine. What fun we had in the process, though. And what excitement we felt as we struggled to attain Wilson's own stylistic ideal -- and Voltaire's -- of lucidity, force, and ease.
....
David, you left us far too soon. Thank you for the life you lived, and for the work you leave behind.

From the eulogy I gave at St. Ignatius Loyola Church in Manhattan on November 24, 2010

Lenny HAT

November 27, 2010

I had the great pleasure of knowing David years ago and helping him out with his stubborn laptop. David's mom would serve lunch, and later we'd talk for hours over glasses of (aged!) port.

I knew David as a fearsomely intelligent, gracious host, and a kind and generous man who was genuinely curious about me and my life, and how individuals from all walks of life find their happiness.

David also had a wicked sense of humor, and would, I'm sure, appreciate my appeal to the Almighty to assign Professor Castronovo some task in heaven that does NOT involve computers.

Marcelline Block

November 26, 2010

Dear David,

You were such a wonderful friend and neighbor, and your friendship meant such a great deal to us. Seeing you was always a highlight of each day, especially your witty and erudite insights on literature, culture, art and cuisine. Just recently we were discussing Roland Barthes' Journal de deuil (part of which was translated in the New Yorker). It is hard to believe that we won't be seeing you again in the lobby, the elevator or the little park in front of our building. You stand among the greats in our memory and will be sorely missed. I hope your journey will be sweet and peaceful, and am sending you, as a farewell, the poem "Ithaka," by CP Cavafy.
Farewell, my dear friend.
With love to Val, Olivia and Alan.

Ithaka
by C. P. Cavafy
As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope your road is a long one.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbors you’re seeing for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on learning from their scholars.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you’re destined for.
But don’t hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you’re old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you wouldn't have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

Translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard

Anne Vaccari

November 25, 2010

My deepest condolences to the family and friends of David Castronovo. I had the utmost pleasure of being a student in his Victorian Literature class this semester. He was such a delight to have as a professor and I will forever treasure my pages of notes I took down furiously as I tried to cram every word he spoke for they were full of wit and precision. He was full of immeasurable knowledge that was obviously gained by pure interest on his part. A true gem of a personality only a truly sincere and extraordinary person could encompass. I can’t imagine the mark he has left of those close to him, for I was only a student of his for three months and I feel a tremendous sense of loss of a truly special giant. May you rest in peace and hope you’re up there with Dickens and Mills, and Ruskin.

Rachael

November 24, 2010

I enjoyed your class immensely and am very devastated to hear of your passing. Every class you provided so much detailed and vast knowledge. And you were always so interested in our feedback and opinions of the stories we read. Now that is a great professor, one who is able to engage his class effortlessly and one who is sincerely interested in his students. Also, you made me laugh repeatedly with your witty and dry sense of humor. :) Thank you for having such an impact on me in such a short time of knowing you. May you rest in peace.

Dominick DiFalco

November 23, 2010

David was a true mentor and a staunch friend. I feel fortunate to have had the privilege of his company and guidance over the past twelve years. I was always deeply grateful and humbled by how gracious he was with his time and friendship. He exercised an enormous impact on my education and figured largely in helping me to become the thinker and person I am today. My sincere condolences to David's family and friends in this difficult time.

Justin

November 23, 2010

I learned so much in such a short amount of time in your English 220 class. Your enthusiasm and depth of knowledge on the subject matter covered was quite electrifying. I felt like I was in on some secret literary club every class and you were the wring leader. The skills and knowledge learned in your class will stay with me for the rest of my life. Thank you for sharing your great gifts, Professor.

Kathryn Fallon

November 23, 2010

David will be missed; as a literary figure, a teacher and a brother to my dear friend. His spirit, energy and wit remain with us. David, thank you for being.

November 23, 2010

I met David a few years ago when he moved into the apartment across the hall. Whenever we ran into each other, which was several times a week given that we lived six feet away from each other, we would exchange pleasantries and remarks about neighborhood goings-on, political news, etc., the sort of things that neighbors in New York chat about while they fumble for their door keys or ride in elevators.

One day a piece of his mail wound up in my mailbox, addressed to David Castronovo, Professor of English Literature, Pace University. Having been an English major in college, too many years ago, I was curious who this good neighbor was. After slipping the letter under his door, I went to Google and then to Amazon.com and was astonished at what came up. I immediately ordered several of his books, overnight delivery please. It was then I discovered what a treasure of a man was living across the hall.

We quickly became good friends as well as good neighbors, discussing books, restaurants, adult beverages, clubs, all the good things in life, sometimes over a gin and tonic or two.

David's sense of humor and his wry, insightful observations on any aspect of life were a marvel to behold. And while he could easily unmask his fellow man with his wit and vocabulary, I never knew him to be caustic or cynical. Rather, he would shed a bit of his light on things, a light which has dimmed but will never go out for those who knew the pleasure and privilege of his friendship.

Carl Layton
New York City

Maureen Rehman

November 23, 2010

Val, Olivia, Alan. So sorry for your loss. Attached below is a poem I found when someone close to me died several years ago. I hope it brings you peace as well.

Remember me in quiet days
While raindrops whisper on your pane.
But in your memories have no grief,
Let just the joy we knew remain.
Remember me when evening stars
Look down on you with steadfast eyes.
Remember if once you wake
To catch a glimpse of red sunrise.
And when your thoughts do turn to me,
Know that I would not have you cry.
But live for me and laugh for me,
When you are happy, so am I.
Remember an old joke we shared;
Remember me when spring walks by.
Think once of me when you are glad
And while you live, I shall not die.

With Love, Thought and Prayers,

November 22, 2010

We have all lost David. I remember growing up as a child and enjoying our wonderful visits with cousin David,Val, Doris and Tony. David always had a brilliant mind,a wonderful wit and a joy to talk to on the phone.My father adored him and never let a Halloween go by without a treasured call for his birthday.We were all so proud of his books,his teachings and his love of the university. David was one of a kind and will be truly missed by all. May his memory live on in the lives of all who knew and loved him. He was our hero and now our Christmas angel. A round of applause for the life of David! Dera Cooke

Anne Whitehouse

November 22, 2010

I have lost my literary comrade. David, you were my most brilliant friend. Your conversation was sparkling, your writing style limpid and eloquent. You possessed the rare ability to see the forest and the trees at once. You read everything--or almost everything--and you remembered it all. You were a fountain of literary knowledge. Your social commentary was apt and searching. I am fortunate to have known you as an inspiring co-author. To think that I shall never hear your voice again in life! But I shall hear it often in my mind.
You endured great hardships without a complaint. You were a source of gaiety and wit to your friends, who cherished you.
You once said to me that your immortality would consist in your books. I think that is true for they are wonderful books. But I also think that your immortality will consist in your example as a teacher, mentor, guide, and friend, and fellow traveller on the literary road. I will never know your like again!

Anne Whitehouse

November 22, 2010

I have lost my literary comrade, the most brilliant mind I ever encountered. Your conversation was sparkling, your writing style limpid and eloquent. You possessed the rare ability to see the forest and the trees at once. You read everything--or almost everything--and you remembered it all. You were a fountain of literary knowledge. Your social commentary was apt and searching. I am fortunate to have known you as an inspiring co-author. To think that I shall never hear your voice again in life! But I shall hear it often in my mind.
You endured great hardships without a complaint. You were a source of gaiety and wit to your friends, who cherished you.
You once said to me that your immortality would consist in your books. I think that is true for they are wonderful books. But I also think that your immortality will consist in your example as a teacher, mentor, guide, and friend, and fellow traveller on the literary road. I will never know your like again!

Artemis Ventouras (formerly Vallianatos)

November 22, 2010

I have the humbling honor of being one of David's favorite students. And he was, by far, my favorite professor and cherished friend. He opened my scholarly horizons and mentored me through my young adult life. I am crushed by his passing, but equally inspired by his life and example. Rest in peace, dear friend. You will live so vividly in my memories and in the stories I tell my son about what it means to be a true gentleman.

November 22, 2010

Dear, dear Friend! You leave us heart-broken. We all looked forward to many more years of your loyal friendship and sparkling conversation, to the generous bestowal of your great learning. Now when I think, as so often I have over the last twenty years, What will David think of this? I’ll no longer have the quick, informative response, but having known you I shall never cease to pose the question. To have made your life the triumph that it was is an inspiration to us all.
Jim Tetreault

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