by Zoë R. Scheuerman ’24
On Monday, September 18th, the Macalester community gathered in the atrium of the Janet Wallace Fine Arts building to celebrate Professor Marlon James’ new recognition as a professor emeritus. The event balanced the sophistication and structure of an official ceremony with the casual warmth of old friends reuniting. Attendees snacked on caprese or steak bite skewers while faculty and administrators recounted anecdotes about Professor James’ fifteen years at Macalester, including him immediately winning over Dr. Daylanne English’s dog, writing a blurb for student-turned-faculty Professor Emma Törzs’ new fantasy novel, and hosting dinner parties for students, fellow faculty, and special guests like, upon one occasion, author Louise Erdrich.
After allowing guests to get settled, mingle, and grab a glass of sparkling cider, the program began with opening remarks from President Rivera, Executive Vice President and Provost Dr. Lisa Anderson-Levy, and English Department Chair Professor Peter Bognanni. President Rivera emphasized that the celebration “is not a goodbye,” a sentiment that Dr. Anderson-Levy reinforced – while also revealing that she and Professor James went to the same high school and grew up in adjacent Kingston suburbs. Professor Bognanni described Professor James not only as a literary force to be reckoned with, but also a professor who was as warm as he was rigorous, punctuating conversations on Old Main 2 with “booming laughter” coming from his office while pressing students in his workshops to adhere to his list of “banned words”.
In his remarks, Professor James described coming to Macalester as a welcome surprise opportunity that came to him at a point in his job search where, in his words, “I was just out of options.” The offer, to which Professor James recalls responding with “Don’t ask questions where you know the answer,” was originally a one-year teaching gig. It then transformed into a fifteen-year tenured position that Professor James says “spoiled me rotten… I can’t teach anywhere else.” Professor James elaborated by praising his fellow English Department faculty for being “on top of their scholarship,” joking that he felt like a one-book faculty member when he compared his publishing schedule to that of his colleagues. He also praised his students, describing Macalester undergrads as full of an “eternal sense of possibility” which made teaching them more enjoyable than MFAs, who pose the problem that “half of them already know what they want, and the other half want my agent’s number.” Professor James also offered a nugget of writing advice, making the point that “one thing you should never do as a writer is grow up.” His final point responded to and reinforced President Rivera and Dr. Anderson-Levy’s sentiments, emphasizing that “my connection to Macalester will never be severed.”
As Professor Emeritus, Professor James has the option to periodically continue teaching classes at Macalester. The Words staff wishes Professor James the best in his future endeavors and hopes to connect with him again in the future! Thank you to all the staff, faculty, student workers, and administrators who helped organize and attended this event!