Family members, friends and colleagues gathered to celebrate and remember the life of longtime Dartmouth English professor and author Noel Perrin Saturday afternoon at Rollins Chapel.
Perrin, known to his friends as Ned, was a professor emeritus of English and an adjunct professor of environmental studies. As chair of the English department, he played an integral role in developing the creative writing major. Perrin passed away last November after an extended battle with Shy-Drager syndrome, a degenerative neurological disorder.
Perrin was an accomplished author as well as a literary critic. His most prominent works were the poems, essays and books that told about his life on a small New England farm. Describing the stone walls that surrounded his farm, he told students, "The wall hugs the land like a talented dancer hugs his partner, only walls do it forever."
The service, however, was much more about the individual than his works. A series of friends, former students, colleagues and family members spoke about a man they all agreed will be dearly missed.
Susan Dentzer '77, who chaired the College's Board of Trustees until last year, was in a senior English seminar that Perrin taught. Dentzer fondly remembered going to Perrin's Thetford, Vt., farm one fall afternoon during her senior year and listening to him discuss the works of Robert Frost, Perrin's specialty. Dentzer said she considered it "a privilege" to have known Perrin.
Reverend Thomas Kinder officiated the service. A close friend and neighbor, he said that although Perrin had not participated in organized religion since his childhood, "he embodied the highest ideals of every religion I know."
English professor Peter Saccio who served under Perrin said that the former chair of the English department had a "talent for helping other people flourish." He remembers many occasions when Perrin stormed into his office and told him to quit "vice- chairing" and go home to write a few more pages in his book. Saccio said he considered Perrin a "midwife" for his book.
Writers who mourned his passing Saturday described Perrin as an invaluable influence on their careers as an editor and mentor. Nardi Reeder Campion, an author and close friend of Perrin's, remembered complaining that she was "over the hill." Perrin reportedly replied, "Over the hill you pick up speed."
Andrew Rowles '65, who knew Perrin as a freshman advisor and later as a neighbor, characterized Perrin as being "ready to go, right to the end," due a curious mixture of mischief-making and political activism.
In addition to his role as a Dartmouth professor, Noel Perrin was active in local politics, especially in environmentally friendly policies, encouraging energy conservation and waste recycling. Practicing what he preached, Perrin's farm was powered by solar energy, and he drove an electric car.
Perrin was a valuable advisor to students, giving advice on family planning before Planned Parenthood reached the Upper Valley as well as counseling students on entering the armed services during the Vietnam War.
In fact, Perrin began a movement in the Upper Valley to stop paying a portion of their taxes in an effort to protest American involvement in Vietnam. Perrin's questioning of the war was particularly significant given his previous experience as an army captain during the Korean War.
Despite his serious contributions to those around him, Perrin also maintained a lighter side. Campion recalled how after having lunch with the professor, she could not decide whether or not Perrin had been kidding when he declared "all the bridges over the Connecticut River should be blown up."
Terry Osborne, a colleague in the English department, described Perrin as his most important mentor, a consistent theme for many of those who spoke Saturday. Osborne described his manner of speaking as one punctuated by silences and livened by digressions.
Perrin also played a critical role in pioneering the creative writing major in the English Department.
Perrin, who was born Edwin in New York City in 1927, joined the Dartmouth faculty in 1959 after graduating from Williams College in 1950 and then served in the army. Perrin specialized in modern poetry, especially the works of Robert Frost. A compilation of the remembrances given on Saturday and other written tributes are being collected for publication at a later date.
