Levin to Retire in Spring '83, To Leave Harvard in January

Harry T. Levin '33, Babbitt Professor of Literature, will finish his last semester teaching at Harvard this fall after 53 years.

Levin said yesterday of his years with the University. "I've been around here so long that I think of it as home." Levin has no long-term plans for his retirement years. He said he has received invitations from many universities but has made no decision yet, adding, "There are some books that I want to finish."

Levin will spend the spring term at the University of Hong Kong helping develop the university's new comparative literature department and working on East-West literature relations.

Next year, he will hold a one-year Eastman Professorship at Oxford University as part of the Rhodes Trust for an American professor in any field, lecturing and participating in the Oxford tutorial system.

Professors in the Comparative and English departments yesterday lauded Levin and his contributions to Harvard and the academic community. Claudio Guillen, chairman of the Comparative Literature Department, recalled that Levin, as a young man, wrote a paper entitled "Literature as an Institution." Guillen added, "Little did he know then that he would become one."

Guillen also called Levin "a continuing force at Harvard" during his time here and an important force in the growth of comparative literature.

After World War II Levin played a major role in reestablishing Harvard's Comparative Literature department, which had become all but defunct during the war. Named chairman for the first time in 1946, he has chaired the department for more than 15 years at different times. He was also involved in forming both General Education and the Core Curriculum.

Gwynne B. Evans, Cabot Professor of English Literature, called Levin a "polyglot," with an unusually broad range of academic interests.

Walter Jackson Bate'39, University Professor, concurred, saying one of Levin's main contributions was to appoint professors with "breadth and range" and "a broad sweep in the humanities."

Outside opportunities kept him from being "narrowly anchored to Harvard," Levin said, adding, "I never made up my mind."

He has taught at the Sorbonne, Cambridge University, Princeton University, the University of Puerto Rico and the University of Tokyo, among others.

"He is one of the great scholar-teachers of literature, not only in this country but also in the entire world," Bate said.

David D. Perkins '51, Marquand Professor of English and American Literature, said Levin has "lived in the broader world of literature" and praised his writing ability. Perkins said Levin "has represented a point of view opposite of provincial."

Levin could not easily sum up his long career at Harvard. "It has been such a long comprehensive time that it is hard to sum it up with a degree of objectivity," Levin said

Guillen also called Levin "a continuing force at Harvard" during his time here and an important force in the growth of comparative literature.

After World War II Levin played a major role in reestablishing Harvard's Comparative Literature department, which had become all but defunct during the war. Named chairman for the first time in 1946, he has chaired the department for more than 15 years at different times. He was also involved in forming both General Education and the Core Curriculum.

Gwynne B. Evans, Cabot Professor of English Literature, called Levin a "polyglot," with an unusually broad range of academic interests.

Walter Jackson Bate'39, University Professor, concurred, saying one of Levin's main contributions was to appoint professors with "breadth and range" and "a broad sweep in the humanities."

Outside opportunities kept him from being "narrowly anchored to Harvard," Levin said, adding, "I never made up my mind."

He has taught at the Sorbonne, Cambridge University, Princeton University, the University of Puerto Rico and the University of Tokyo, among others.

"He is one of the great scholar-teachers of literature, not only in this country but also in the entire world," Bate said.

David D. Perkins '51, Marquand Professor of English and American Literature, said Levin has "lived in the broader world of literature" and praised his writing ability. Perkins said Levin "has represented a point of view opposite of provincial."

Levin could not easily sum up his long career at Harvard. "It has been such a long comprehensive time that it is hard to sum it up with a degree of objectivity," Levin said