It has been an extraordinarily busy beginning of the semester for me, and I suspect, the rest of the faculty, what with welcoming new graduate students and new majors, plus welcoming back all of our returning students. But I'll see if I can keep up with the blog a little more frequently than I have been.
The memorial service for Winston was moving. Speakers acknowledged the many facets of Winston's life and career, and his family--his two brothers and his sister and her family--were also there. For many of us, it was an occasion to meld "Tony"--his childhood and young adult name--with "Winston"--the man we all knew here at Clark. His family could sense the esteem in which he was held by his colleagues and students, while we here, who were almost exclusively involved with his professional life, could sense the "Tony" that lurked behind the scholar we appreciated so much. I append the program:

A Celebration of the Life of Winston Anthony Napier (1953-2008)

Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Tilton Hall, Higgins University Center
Clark University
4:00 p.m.

Jazz Prelude
The Paul Buono Trio

Welcome
Virginia Vaughan, English Department

Winston at the University
John Bassett, President
David Angel, Provost

Winston and his Colleagues
Jay Elliott, English Department
Betsy Huang, English Department

Jazz Interlude

Tony and his Family
Debbie Napier, sister
Norman Napier, brother

Dr. Napier and his Neighbor
Tim Sutton, neighbor

Professor Napier and his Students
Jarrett H. Brown, Clark MA 1999
Maggie Rabidou, Clark BA 2008

Winston Remembered
Open Mike

Reception

Jazz: syncopated music, usually improvisational

Bricolage: in cultural studies, an individual’s creation of a cultural identity by acquiring objects from a
variety of subcultures

The Paul Buono Trio
Paul Buono Piano
Jason Schwartz Bass
Josh Kiggans Drums

Here is the card that Winston's family sent the English Department after the service:

Finally, here is the end of the remarks I offered, quoting a colleague here at Clark, not from the English Department:

Winston was "a real intellectual who understood issues of marginality and living on the borders as a person of color with enormous depth in all its nuances." He "got it": that is, he got "the experiences in all heir complexities of race, the experiences of living and moving across multiple sites, across international borders, in worlds in which [minorities have] little real power. He was a treasured colleague and a good friend from whom I learnt to think beyond my own borders."

That, for me, is the supreme compliment to offer to a colleague, and I think we can all acknowledge his impact on Clark and the academic community as a whole in that way: he was a man who made us think beyond or own borders. We will miss him tremendously.

And we will.

--Jay