Dr. Matthew Joseph Bruccoli

I miss you, Matt. You were an amazing scholar, and a great help to me in my scholarly pursuits.

My condolences to Mrs. Bruccoli and the family. I found out about Professor Bruccoli's death just now , and I keenly feel the loss. As my dissertation director, he was my key mentor--one who shaped me personally and professionally. He was always very kind to me and made a great difference in my life.

Dr. B. was a patient of mine about 20 years ago. At first, like many people, I found him commanding(in presence), intense and impatient in the sense that the clock always was ticking for him. That being said, as I got to know him over a period of 5+ years, I found him brilliant, positive, unselfish and actually had some great talks and laughs with him. He was a truly irreplacable literary icon for America and will be greatly missed.

Being a first time mom I don't have time to read the newspaper so was not aware your father had passed, Lyn. My thoughts are with you. I still remember fondly the sleepover where we ate all of those pancakes and drooled over your Duran Duran posters. Take care. Ruthie (Fowles) Rush

The USC family was extremely fortunate to have someone of MJB's caliber in its midst. It always made me smile to see him taking the red convertible for a spin with his faithful dog at his side. He was a class act -- from start to finish -- all puns intended.

I was privileged to work with Matthew J. Bruccoli as a graduate assistant for three years while he was editing "The Great Gatsby" and "The Love of the Last Tycoon" for Cambridge University Press, and then long-distance on various projects after I returned to Mississippi.

When I arrived at USC, veteran graduate students tried to terrify me with legends of MJB before I even met him. I soon learned, however, that his grizzly bear exterior--which was necessary to get his work...

My deepest sympathies to the entire Bruccoli family. Your loss is shared by many, as evidenced by the remembrances in this guestbook. May you find some peace and comfort in these wonderful memories of this great man.

My own memories go back to 1979 and my first job fresh out of the USC College of Journalism. I was hired as the secretary for Bruccoli Clark Publishers (before Layman was a partner). Naively, I took the liberty of copyediting Dr. B's and Rick's letters as I typed them. I...

Dr. Bruccoli left a wonderful legacy to all who loved literature, especially Fitzgerald. I had the privilege of going to school with his daughter Mary, playing in his back yard and making fortune cookies in his kitchen. I cherish those times. Dr. Bruccoli’s passion for education permeated the air so that he influenced even this brief observer.

With my prayers for peace and comfort during this time of sadness,

Scholarly and university press publishing have lost a great practitioner, supporter, friend, author, editor, and reviewer in Matt Bruccoli. In addition to his years of service to the University of South Carolina Press and his own publishing company, Matt edited a series of bibliographies for the University of Pittsburgh Press and was a valued publishing advisor and author. We will dearly miss his wisdom and his commitment to qreat books.