{"id":59,"date":"2014-12-05T17:57:51","date_gmt":"2014-12-05T17:57:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.eecsocietyblog.org\/?p=59"},"modified":"2018-01-28T20:18:50","modified_gmt":"2018-01-29T01:18:50","slug":"in-memoriam-norman-friedman-1925-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eecsocietyblog.org\/?p=59","title":{"rendered":"In Memoriam: Norman Friedman (1925-2014)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Norman<\/a>

Norman Friedman, 1960<\/p><\/div>\n

Anyone who begins a rigorous study of Cummings soon realizes the crucial contributions of Norman Friedman. In a spirit of celebration of his life, and in memory of his death, Michael Webster has created a webpage, which can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The links and tributes below (which are also included on Spring’s website) help give an indication of the extensive and generous life’s work of this beloved scholar.<\/p>\n

Links:<\/p>\n

A Norman Friedman Bibliography<\/a><\/p>\n

From\u00a0Spring<\/em>\u00a014 & 15 (2005 \/ 2006)<\/a>\u00a0[Special Norman Friedman Double Issue]:<\/p>\n

\u201cTributes to Norman Friedman<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0Spring: The Journal of the E. E. Cummings Society<\/em>\u00a014-15 (October 2006): 9-30.<\/p>\n

Friedman, Norman. “The Other Cummings: The Private Side<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0Spring: The Journal of the E. E. Cummings Society<\/em>\u00a014-15 (October 2006): 31-45.<\/p>\n

—. \u201cCummings, Oedipus, and Childhood: Problems of Anxiety and Intimacy<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0Spring: The Journal of the E. E. Cummings Society<\/em>\u00a014-15 (2006): 46-68.<\/p>\n

Lewis Turco, \u201cThe Passing of Norman Friedman<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Dylan Welch, \u201cTribute to Norman Friedman<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

[spacer height=”20px”]<\/p>\n

Tributes to Norman Friedman<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are some tributes to Norman, in reverse order in which they were received (e-mail fashion):<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

I never met Norman Friedman, but his books, his deep understanding of Cummings’ spirit greatly helped me to translate the poems of “our nonhero”.
\nMy sympathy to his wife, family and friends.
\n—
\njacques demarcq<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

I never had the chance to meet Norman, but in reading through your emails, I have been struck by how his spirit of generosity lives on in the Cummings Society. I gave my first conference presentation at a Cummings panel in 2008, and I felt very much welcomed and encouraged by Mike, Gillian, Etienne, and everyone in a way similar to how many of you shared how Norman welcomed you and your work. The Cummings Society has been a major influence in where I am today, and I now have a much clearer understanding as to why the Cummings Society is so unique: Norman was and is a nonhero, and like EEC, a nonhero’s spirit contagiously affects the people around him.<\/p>\n

for the leaping greenly spirits of trees,<\/p>\n

Aaron Moe<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

I was shocked and dismayed to learn of Norman Friedman’s death. He has been very important to me as I have in recent years continued my work on the writings of E. E. Cummings. I recently reviewed all my past correspondence with him and realized that I did not always respond to his suggestions – and even invitations! I plan to remedy that, partly as a thank you for his invaluable service to all of us for many years.<\/p>\n

Bethany Dumas<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Yes, I agree, we are all obviously uniting our voices here to remember Norman as a philanthropist and great lover of people and literature.<\/p>\n

Personally, I’ll always remember his enthusiasm and warmth when welcoming me in New York as a PHD student on EEC. That day gave a new and truer dimension to my work as Norman had known EEC and had been there till his last day. I hope that Zelda can be reassured as now it is EEC in turn who is welcoming him over there, their fingers not writing or painting but uniting and dancing,<\/p>\n

“the impressed fingers of sublime
\nMemory,of that loveliness receiving
\nthe image (all our) proud heart(s) (will forever) cherish as fair”<\/p>\n

(Sonnets, Unrealities, II, 137).<\/p>\n

Claudia Desblaches
\nFrance<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Zelda and Norman have been in my thoughts all week.\u00a0 It was a shock to be in the middle of a conference last week and hear about Norman\u2019s passing.\u00a0 It took me back to my first ALA conference in the late \u201880s and all the ALA Cummings sessions after that.\u00a0 I felt welcomed by them both\u2014even when I was a very young, awkward scholar of perhaps 23 years.\u00a0 Norman was always helpful and encouraging.\u00a0 I am so proud to tell everyone that I meet that I am part of this wonderful group of EEC scholars. Even if I have been absent in recent years, Norman, Zelda and all of you are part of who I am.
\nI too look forward to many reflective pieces in\u00a0Spring<\/em>. He cared deeply about this work, so it is time for me to return to EEC in his honor.\u00a0 I will think of him as I write!<\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n

Taimi Olsen<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Norman was the Chair of the Cummings Society when I started attending ALA as a graduate student in the 1980s.\u00a0 He and Zelda took me under their wings immediately and made me feel like my fledgling work was valued.\u00a0 They set the welcoming tone that characterizes this group to this day.\u00a0 What fine founders all of those early Cummings scholars were.<\/p>\n

Best,
\nRai Peterson<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

From Madrid in Euroland,<\/p>\n

I think that we all should write something about our relationship with Norman and Zelda for the next issue of\u00a0Spring<\/em>. That’s the best tribute for a generous person who, in my case, helped so much with my PhD and later publications and, considering the time difference, patiently woke up in the middle of the night when in the 1990s I sent him faxes asking questions about Mr. Cummings.<\/p>\n

Thanks a lot, Norman.<\/p>\n

Teresa Gonz\u00e1lez M\u00ednguez<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Norman was a fine scholar and a gentle, kind man.\u00a0 It says something about your scholarship when you write not only the first critical monograph on a major poet, but one that remains, after many decades, the best single study of Cummings’s poetry.\u00a0 I had the honor and pleasure of meeting Norman and Zelda several times at Cummings sessions of conferences and when we each lectured at the other’s university during the Cummings centennial.\u00a0 Each meeting, professional or social, reinforced my feeling that they were a gracious, charming couple.\u00a0 Many of you know that Norman (and Zelda too, I believe) was a practicing psychologist.\u00a0 I had a chance to see and benefit from this side of his wisdom when he kindly advised me on some problems I was having with my adolescent daughter.\u00a0 The advice, like all of Norman’s insights, was offered gently–and gratefully received.\u00a0 That was Norman.\u00a0 We’ll miss him.<\/p>\n

Milt Cohen<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

I have never been more grateful for a friendship or more honored by one than that with Norman and Zelda. I’m happy to have expressed that to them while Norman was still with us, and it was always with the greatest sincerity. I know that Zelda will be sustained now by the bonds shared in those final years, even as I offer my sympathy for the inevitability of her loss. I hope she finds comfort in the outpouring of shared memories and tributes that I read online this evening, as I add my voice to that chorus.<\/p>\n

Gerry Locklin
\nGerald.Locklin@csulb.edu<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Thanks for letting me know, Mike.\u00a0 Very sorry to hear.<\/p>\n

After finding out about Norman, I had a yen to read up on him at Wikipedia and was shocked to be unable to find an entry on him.\u00a0 Is there one?\u00a0 I’m not a big admirer of Wikipedia but it can be handy for surface views of various subjects, so I’d like it to have entries on all the writers I admire–including, for certain, Norman.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Would any of our society’s younger admirers of Cummings be interested in making an entry on him?\u00a0 I wish I had time to myself, but . . .<\/p>\n

all best, Bob Grumman<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Like Todd, Norman was my first connection to the Cummings Society, and he became a sort of mentor to me, as I’m sure he was to many. I always felt honored to be part of the society and to have the great Norman Friedman comment on my work. Through his encouragement I was able to accomplish and achieve more than I ever thought I could.\u00a0 He was not only a brilliant scholar but an inspiring teacher, a generous colleague, and an unforgettable person.<\/p>\n

Millie Kidd<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Norman was the editor of\u00a0Spring<\/em>\u00a0when I submitted my first work on E. E. Cummings.\u00a0 He was very encouraging and supportive.\u00a0\u00a0 I only met him once during a conference panel that I participated in, but as so many others have noted, his work and its influence is indisputable.<\/p>\n

Todd\u00a0 Martin<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

In Memoriam Norman Friedman<\/p>\n

a great<\/p>\n

man
\nis
\ngone. (#14 73 Poems\u00a0 CP 786)<\/p>\n

how generous is that himself the sun<\/p>\n

(never a moment ceasing to begin
\nthe mystery of day for someone\u2019s eyes)<\/p>\n

with goldenly his fathering
\nnearness awakened
\nand our night\u2019s thousand million miracles\u00a0(#84 95 Poems\u00a0 CP 756)<\/p>\n

over us if(as what was dusk becomes
\ndarkness)innumerably singular
\nstrictly immeasurable nowhere flames<\/p>\n

to call the stars, Norman and Cummings,\u00a0 (#69 95 Poems\u00a0 CP 741)<\/p>\n

whose absence would have made your whole life and my
\n(and infinite our)merely to undie\u00a0 (#45 73 Poems\u00a0 CP 817)<\/p>\n

Norman,
\n“i carry your books with me(i carry them in my heart”; you’re with stars now and we remember.\u00a0 Our thoughts and prayers are with Zelda and family,<\/p>\n

Gillian Huang-Tiller and Ken Tiller
\nUniversity of Virginia-Wise<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Norman’s influence extends across boundaries here into South Africa, where I’ve been carrying him, carrying him in my heart. To read his work has been one of those turning-point experiences. To have met him in Boston was the most gentle mind-blow. He and Zelda like that, beautifully smallish within a very tangible aura of living well, in touch with each other and life. You could feel his big, gentle, clear heart from a distance. I will never forget him, and it actually hurts, stings, to think that he won’t be lightly treading this Earth with us any further. Not to mention missing his further writing on our non-hero.<\/p>\n

Words fail, and so they should.<\/p>\n

Etienne Terblanche<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Dick Bailey, who hired me at the University of Michigan in 1985 and also died just recently, was Norman’s student.
\nOver my 27 years here of teaching at Michigan, before I retired last year, this lead to many spirited conversations between us about Norman, E.E, etc.
\nSo sorry to hear of Norman’s passing.<\/p>\n

I admire everything Norman wrote about E.E.<\/p>\n

Everything.<\/p>\n

The body of work is beautiful.<\/p>\n

On this point, what more can you say?<\/p>\n

Beautiful.<\/p>\n

–Rich Cureton<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Norman once told me he wanted “forgetting me, remember me” to be thought of at his passing. So, I imagine, would most of us.<\/p>\n

David V. Forrest<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Thanks for your input on Norman. We were colleagues for years. As you say
\nHe lives on.
\nGeorge Held<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Thanks, Michael.\u00a0 N. lived the EEC spirit.
\nBill Harmon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anyone who begins a rigorous study of Cummings soon realizes the crucial contributions of Norman Friedman. In a spirit of celebration of his life, and in memory of his death, Michael Webster has created a webpage, which can be found here. The links and tributes below (which are also included on Spring’s website) help give […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[59,2,60,58,26,27,25],"class_list":["post-59","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-cummings-blog","tag-e-e-cummings","tag-e-e-cummings-society","tag-eec","tag-in-memoriam","tag-life-is-not-a-paragraph","tag-norman-friedman","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eecsocietyblog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eecsocietyblog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eecsocietyblog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eecsocietyblog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eecsocietyblog.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=59"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.eecsocietyblog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82,"href":"https:\/\/www.eecsocietyblog.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59\/revisions\/82"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eecsocietyblog.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=59"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eecsocietyblog.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=59"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eecsocietyblog.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=59"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}