In Memoriam: Norman O. Brown

Norman O. Brown was a scholar, poet and revolutionary who made a lasting impression on the sixties generation. His distinctive fusion of Marxism, psychoanalysis and classical literature inspired students across the United States and in Europe to participate in the political upheaval of that time. His books, including Love’s Body and Life Against Death, are still being used in college classrooms throughout the country.This memorial volume has two sections, the first presenting a previously unpublished autobiographical essay in which Brown details both his family and intellectual background prior to arriving in the United States at the University of Chicago.The second section contains a number of short meditations on his life and work by friends, family and colleagues. The pieces are poetic and insightful, a true testimony to the kind of thinking Brown inspired. They were presented originally during a memorial gathering at the University of California Santa Cruz, which included, among others, his colleagues there: Carl E. Schorske, Jay Cantor, Hayden White, Helene Moglen, Jim Clifford and Nathaniel Mackey.