Dwight Lindley '42, professor emeritus of English and a popular and deeply respected figure in the teaching of literature and writing for more than three decades, died July 18. Below are some of the letters the Alumni Review has received about Lindley; others appear in the current print issue of the magazine. A full obituary appears in this issue.
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Dwight Lindley was my teacher and then, for a year and a half, my colleague at Hamilton. I still think of him as a friend, although we probably saw each other last about 40 years ago.
I had the good fortune to take a first-year seminar with Dwight in the first semester of the 1952-1953 academic year. I remember him as taciturn, even gruff – at times intimidatingly so. I don't recall a word that he said, but I know that the course was thrilling to me then, and I think in retrospect that it was the most important I ever had.
Although the seminar was exciting partly because of the works that we read, Dwight made them shine for us by forcing us to think about them without relying on our commonplaces and clichés. The agonizing – then stimulating – silences that hung in the seminar room were a matter of pedagogic technique. Later I came to understand that Dwight had modeled his style on that of another alumnus, Professor of English George L. Nesbitt ['24], who had probably modeled his own on Frank Ristine's. When I was allowed to teach the seminar myself during my first full year of teaching in 1961-1962, I tried to emulate Dwight and George, but I could not stop myself from talking too much.
I returned to Clinton with my wife in January 1961. George was on leave that term, and Dwight was probably acting chairman of the English Department. In any case, despite my affection for some of my other former teachers, I looked mainly to Dwight for advice and help. It was a perplexing time for me. I had taught only one class before then. Several of my new colleagues at Hamilton seemed to think that I was still an undergraduate. I often felt like one, even though my first child was on the way.
Dwight helped with his characteristic frankness, generosity and good sense. His advice and support became even more important to me the next fall, when a presidential directive reduced the term of my appointment from two and a half years to a year and a half. As a result, I found myself unexpectedly looking for another job. I found one at Queens College in New York.
Dwight and Janey were kind friends to my wife and me during the brief time that I taught at Hamilton, and they remained so during the weeks we spent in Clinton before and after my summer school teaching over the next few years.
Michael G. Sundell '56
New York City
Both my father, Peter '54, and I had the pleasure of taking English courses from Dr. Lindley. I was allowed to take sophomore-level English literature from him my first year. While I thought highly of my writing ability, my initial papers were not met with the same level of enthusiasm by Lindley. In fact, most of my papers were a blur of red marks that began with "Mr. Steinwedell: Your effort lacks ..." and then proceeded in some length and detail on my shortcomings.
Over time, I did improve, and when I had a more acceptable effort, I received my papers back with comments that began, "Peter: Good job ..." As this continued throughout the semester, it made quite an impression on my 18-year-old psyche, especially since it amused my father no end. Looking back, it is apparent that Lindley was having fun aligning the overinflated ego of a freshman while also training me to be a much more effective written communicator, one of the true values of a Hamilton education.
David H. Steinwedell '81
Marietta, Ga.
Dwight and I were classmates and fraternity brothers (Alpha Delta Phi). Hamilton at the time, under President William Harold Cowley, offered the lifestyle called "holosim" – i.e., unlike the solely academic style of Hutchins at the University of Chicago, Hamilton men were to be proficient in academics, social behavior (e.g. house parties) and social sports (tennis, golf, etc.). To graduate, we had to demonstrate our ability in academics and a social sport.
In bull sessions, I championed the holoistic concept while "Newt" stood solidly for the academic mode. This was not a problem until he confessed at our 50th reunion in 1992 that he and [Professor of English George L.] Nesbitt ['24] used their supercilious attitude to wipe out Hamilton's time-honored (and famous) requirement of four years of public speaking.
It was encouraging to read the comments from current students that Hamilton needs a [mandatory] program devoted to public speaking (Alumni Review, Summer 2007).
Howard "Howie" Keefe '42
Mulberry, Fla.
I was saddened to read of Professor Lindley's demise, particularly since I believe he was the last living link to the faculty I knew on the Hill in the late '50s. Dwight and Jascha Kessler were the leading lights of the English Department, and to successfully complete Lindley's advanced expository course was to come out at the end a far better writer than when you began. Sitting around the large seminar table on the top floor of old James Library, reading aloud your own writing and hearing it criticized on the spot by him and your colleagues, was not always pleasant but was unfailingly helpful. Like me, Lindley had a particular dislike of sloppy, sentimental prose, as well as the heavily clichéd. RIP Dwight, you served us well!!
