English professor David Minter enjoys – A Storybook Ending

“They’ve kept me on my toes,” he said. “I’ve
had great students here.”
In May, Minter, the Bruce and Elizabeth Dunlevie Professor
of English, will retire from Rice University after teaching
here for 24 years.

Three of his former Rice students will pay a special tribute
to him May 1 at a symposium entitled “Current Practices
in American Literary and Cultural Study” from 1 to
4:30 p.m. in the Kyle Morrow Room at Fondren Library. They
each will give a 45-minute lecture reflecting current practices
in American literary study.

John Irwin, the Decker Professor in the Humanities at Johns
Hopkins University, will deliver a lecture entitled “Building
the Virgin: Hart Crane’s ‘The Bridge’”;
Carolyn Porter, an English professor at the University of
California–Berkeley, will discuss “Faulkner, Minter
and Me”; and Bryan Wolf, an art history professor at
Stanford University, will talk about “Rethinking the
Landscape: Postmodernism and the Hudson River School.”

Irwin, who first met Minter 40 years ago when they both
were students at Yale University, said Minter’s intelligence
and generosity with his knowledge has always stood out.

When Irwin was studying for his master’s and doctorate
at Rice, both of which he earned in 1970, he took a course
taught by his former classmate. “It was one of the
best courses I had at Rice,” said Irwin, who now teaches
American literature, creative writing and medieval literature.
“David’s an excellent teacher and it was full
of excellent students. Clearly, it made a profound impression
on [Porter, Wolf and me] because we all went on to become
teachers of American literature.”

Porter said Minter was a stellar professor — “always
open to new ideas, always knowledgeable about the existing
ones.” She continued, “He was able to understand
literature from a position equal parts wisdom and curiosity.”

Last September, Rice established the Caroline S. and David
L. Minter Endowment in honor and recognition of Minter’s
love of teaching and American literature. It is the first
endowment at Rice that supports undergraduate excellence
in the English major and will fund student prizes, research
projects and the development of new courses.

The endowment also recognizes Minter as one of the foremost
scholars of 20th century literature and the Minters’
contribution to Rice, said Caroline Levander, an associate
English professor and chair of the endowment committee.

“[Minter and his wife, Caroline] really have seen David’s
career as a joint project,” she said. “They’re
both just tremendously generous people. The Rice alumni,
friends and faculty I have spoken with all remark upon the
Minters’ strong commitment to the academic and university
community.”

After retiring, Minter plans to teach occasionally and to
write his fifth book, possibly about World War II.

He has lectured extensively about American literature and
author William Faulkner at dozens of other universities.
Minter began reading the famous 20th century novelist when
he studied at Yale.

“I just found his work compelling,” he said.

Though Faulkner may not be easy to read because of his complex
writing style, his stories have a strong narrative pull,
Minter said.

“You have to be able to get interested in the style
of the novel and how the narrative form is related to the
story — how they are interlaced ” he said. “If
you can do that, Faulkner is a truly great writer. I think
Faulkner will be read centuries from now.”

Minter began teaching in 1964 at Yale. He also has been
a visiting professor at Hamburg University in Germany, Columbia
University in New York and Washington University in St.
Louis.

Minter’s first stint at Rice was in 1967 as an assistant
professor of English, teaching American literature courses.

“I really liked Rice a lot,” he said.

In the fall of 1973, he and his wife became masters at Baker
College and served for the next six years. He was promoted
to professor in 1974 and also served as speaker of the Faculty
Council and chair of the English department.

In 1976, Minter was on leave from Rice when he lived near
Cambridge, England, in the house English poet Rupert Brook
lived in and made famous with his poem “The Old Vicarage,
Grantchester.”

During his eight-month stay, Minter wrote his second and
most successful book, “William Faulkner: His Life and
Work.” The book has been so popular that it has been
translated into Korean and French and reprinted several
times.

“Writing is the most intensive work I have ever done,”
Minter said. “At different moments it’s exhilarating
and hard work. I do it because I think I don’t ever
feel more alive.”

Coping with writer’s block is a tough obstacle even
after writing four books and countless papers and reviews,
including editing the Norton Critical Edition of William
Faulkner’s “The Sound and the Fury.”

“It’s still a matter of trying to find the right
words for what you want to do,” Minter said.

In 1981, the Minters moved to Atlanta, where he was an English
professor at Emory University. He served as dean of Emory
College and as vice president for arts and sciences while
continuing some teaching and writing.

“I loved it,” Minter said of his administrative
roles. “It was a great job.”

But Minter missed devoting time to writing and teaching
and returned to Rice again in 1990 as the Libbie Shearn
Moody Professor of English. Since returning to Rice, he
has completed two books, “A Cultural History of the
American Novel” and “Faulkner’s Questioning
Narratives,” as well as serving with his wife as masters
at Jones College for five years while taking on administrative
roles as interim vice-provost, university librarian and
interim provost.

“David has done, with distinction, virtually everything
the university can expect from a faculty member,” said
Provost Eugene Levy. “He is an extraordinarily distinguished
scholar, and he has served with distinction in the roles
of librarian and provost.”

In 1999, he was named the Bruce and Elizabeth Dunlevie Professor
of English, a chair endowed by one of his former students,
Bruce Dunlevie, now a venture capitalist in California.

Like writing, teaching has its own set of rewards, including
the rare opportunity to watch students make discoveries
in the learning process, he said.

“It’s your chance to help them feel what you feel
about books you love,” he said. “I do want to
give students a chance to realize that reading is a form
of travel. You can go places, learn things, see things you
otherwise wouldn’t.”

It was Minter’s father who taught him the joy and value
of reading. With a family of six children, the Minters could
not afford to take many vacations. But his father would
plan elaborate trips to the Holy Land and other countries.
He taught his son that he could travel simply by reading
books.

Minter has been recognized for his teaching and has received
numerous awards, including a National Endowment for the
Humanities Fellowship in 1969 and the George R. Brown Award
for Superior Teaching in 1974, 1976 and 1977.