Bernard Spivack Memorial Garden dedicated

by Daniel J. Fitzgibbons, Chronicle staff

English professor Charlotte Spivack was among those who spoke at the Sept. 17 dedication of an Elizabethan-style garden to her late husband, Bernard. Construction of the garden at the Massachusetts Center for Renaissance Studies was supported by a gift from the Spivack family. (Daniel Fitzgibbons photo)

he Massachusetts Center for Renaissance Studies paid homage to one of the campus's foremost Shakespeare scholars last weekend with the dedication of an Elizabethan-style garden to the memory of English professor Bernard Spivack.
A gift of the Spivack family, the garden lies behind the center along the base of a stone retaining wall. Surrounded by the sprigs of boxwood and herbs, pansies and marigolds, a bust of the Bard gazes toward the western horizon.

     About 40 people attended the ceremony, including English professor Charlotte Spivack, who said the garden reflects her late husband's love of Shakespeare and horticulture.

     She said the idea of a memorial garden was raised several months ago during a chat with Renaissance Center director and longtime colleague Arthur Kinney. "I really liked the idea," she said, noting that her husband's retirement in 1981 passed with little recognition of his contributions to the campus. "He would have loved the Shakespeare Garden."

     During the ceremony, the Spivacks' son and daughter, Loren and Karla, also shared memories of their father.

     "He was the essence of academic," said Loren, while Karla remembered her father reciting "Macbeth" to her while they went to collect the mail.

     Karla Spivack said her father's enduring fascination with plants and flowers is embodied in the garden. "He loved textured layers and meanings and saw those in plants and gardens."

     Several of the speakers highlighted Bernard Spivack's scholarly and teaching prowess.

      Judaic Studies professor Julius Lester, who studied with the Spivacks when he was an undergraduate at Fisk University in Nashville, was particularly impressed by Bernard's love of language.

     "I know that I learned from him that language had a music to it," said Lester, "and that has influenced my own writing."

     Anne Herrington, who chairs the English Department, lauded Spivack as an "exceptional and much revered teacher who was very much committed to the ideal of a public university."

     Herrington noted that Spivack taught on campus for 17 years until his retirement in 1981. During his years at the University, he founded the Renaissance faculty group and served as the first editor of the campus-based journal English Literary Renaissance. He died in 1992 at the age of 80.

     Reminiscing about his one-time colleague, Kinney said Spivack had a commanding knowledge of Shakespeare and an equally impressive vocal ability.

     "If you ever heard Bernard say anything, you'd say that's a voice I want," said Kinney.

      The Bernard Spivack Memorial Garden was designed by Stephen Gehlbach, dean of the School of Public Health and Health Sciences, and Dennis Porter, professor emeritus of French. Recruited for the project by Kinney, both men also spoke at last weekend's dedication.

     "One of the goals was to find authentic plants mentioned in Shakespeare's writings or that have ties to Elizabethan times," said Gehlbach.

     Porter, who worked with Gehlbach to fashion the formal design of the garden, said they had to compensate for the harsher New England climate by choosing hardier varieties than those found in England.

     "This is what a garden from Shakespeare's time might have looked like," he said.
The dedication concluded with a champagne toast by Loren Spivack to his father, followed by a second toast to the Spivack family for their gift.