John Hicks

May 13, 1919 - May 19, 2010

 

 

The Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation mourns the passing of President Emeritus John Hicks.  A scholar and an athlete, Hicks majored in English Literature at Middlebury College in Vermont, and was the captain of the track team.  He graduated in 1940 and joined the Navy.  As an officer aboard the aircraft carrier, Enterprise, he saw action from Midway to the Leyte Gulf.  After World War II he continued his studies at Harvard and Boston University.  Teaching appointments at Tufts and Wesleyan were followed by a move to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he taught from 1959 to 1986.  From 1962 to 1986 he was Co-Editor of The Massachusetts Review, a quarterly journal of literature, the arts and public affairs. 

 

A distinguished academic, Hicks was, for many years, secretary of the New England College English Association.  His published books include Thoreau in Our Season and Revolution & Reaction:  the Paris Commune of 1871.  He retired in 1986 as Emeritus Professor. 

 

After coming to Carmel, he served on the Carmel Library Board and on the Boards of the Library Foundation and the Friends of the Harrison Memorial Library.  He joined the THF Board in 1988.  After his tenure as Vice President (1988-1993) he became President of the Foundation, serving from 1993 to 1999.  He continued on the Board until his passing.  During his tenure as president he co-edited this Newsletter with Jackie Baumann and planned and produced a series of festive Fall Festivals with star-packed guest speakers including one of the Foundation Founders, Congressman Fred Farr, as well as Leon Panetta, Kevin Starr and Julie Packard.  Among the many poets who read under the auspices of the THF in those years were Robert Bly, Sherod Santos, Denise Levertov and Galway Kinnell.  The Foundation, in 2000, presented Hicks with the Hawk Award for outstanding service.  John was predeceased by his wife, Priscilla, a scholar and educator with a special interest in Henry James. 

 

John Hicks was a patient mentor, a fierce advocate, and, when necessary, a quiet, effective diplomat.  His wit, wisdom, diligence, and kindness are greatly missed.

 

 

John Courtney
November 3, 1944 – April 17, 2010
 

 

The Tor House Foundation mourns the passing of John Courtney.  John served tirelessly as a docent and as a member of the Tor House Board from 1996 until illness forced his retirement in early 2008.  He was Vice President of the organization from 1996 to 2002.

 

But these facts barely touch the totality of John’s contribution to Tor House and to the poet he so admired.  An enthusiastic devotee of wild nature and of Jeffers and his poetry, John took every opportunity to share his love of Jeffers with the wider community.  He placed a sign at Soberanes Point identifying, for hikers, the location of a “Place with No Name.”  In the late 1990s he set out a Jeffers-inspired walk through geological time along the waterfront and through the parks of Pacific Grove.  In Europe, he lectured on Jeffers’ philosophy.  He conducted informal Jeffers seminars at his home in Pacific Grove and, with Lifetime Member Jean Grace, led the annual Fall Festival Poetry Walk each year from 1994 until 2007.  During his final Poetry Walk along Carmel State Beach, he used Jeffers’ poetry to compare the brief lifetime of man to the permanence of nature.  The bus tours to the Big Sur Country that John organized and conducted in 2000 and 2001 were unique experiences for those fortunate enough to participate.  Over the years, he and his wife, Carol, graciously opened their home to visiting scholars.

 

John was a unique individual. We at Tor House are grateful for the years we knew him.
 

News and Notes

 

The 2010 Robinson Jeffers Tor House Prize for Poetry

 

Please see our Poetry Prize page for details on the winners and winning poems for the 2010 Robinson Jeffers Tor House Prize for Poetry.

 

 

SPRING GARDEN PARTY – May 2, 2010
An Afternoon of Sunshine and Music and Art