It saddens us to relate the news that Norman Richard Shapiro’51 died peacefully on Friday, April 3rd, 2020. Born on November 1, 1930, he attended Boston Latin School, and earned this Bachelors, Masters as well as PhD from Harvard University
Norman had a passion for romance languages and pursued his doctorate in French. He traveled to Paris on a Fulbright Scholarship in 1955, and after receiving his PhD, Norm joined the Wesleyan faculty in Romance languages where he eventually became a tenured professor. In 2011, the French government promoted Norm to the Rank of “Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic.” The honor marks the achievement of a lifetime dedicated to translation of the spread of French culture.”
He was a daily fixture at Harvard’s Adam House, stationed at his customary table as writer in residence. From here he advised undergraduate students on their writings, produced plays and continued his translations.
One of his last works was the ode below, written to commemorate the start of the Claverly renovations.
Fair Claverly
Dr. Norman Shapiro ’51
In times long gone, Fair Claverly
Rose tall in “Gold Coast” majesty,
The gem of Harvard’s gilded age,
When intellect was not the gauge
Of students’ worth, but wealth was all,
And superficial folderol—
Man’s digs, his clothes, his baubles—brought
Success… Claverly—prestige-wrought—
Implied that one need not reside
With those thought crass, undignified,
Unmannerly. And she could boast
That she, in beauteous pride, played host–
Resplendent–to “The Happy Few,”
The upper-crust, the well-to-do!
But nothing reigns unchanged. Time passed,
And, with each year, grown less high-classed,
Soon would she see herself become
A warehouse dormitory, glum,
Dim shadow of her former glory,
A mere, drear, drab repository,
Home for the House-less… Grim her halls,
Gone now her pool, her paneled walls,
Rare jewel no more…
Times change. Ah, yes!
But for the better too, no less
Than for the worse! Soon will we see
Claverly at art’s apogee
Once more, rise tall in style and grace,
And over all resume her place
In “Gold Coast” beauty’s history.
Fair Claverly! Fair Claverly!
Gone the dull, old—Requiescat!
The new? Reborn in splendor that
In gold will reign, herself again!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!…
Amen.