On November 20, the Classics Library honored UC Classics Professor Kathryn Gutzwiller on the occasion of her being awarded the title “John Miller Burnam Professor of Classics,” named for a Professor of Latin Palaeography at UC, 1900-1921, and whose personal library formed the basis for the classics library, which is also named after him.

The celebration in the Library’s main Reading Room began with a talk by Susan Prince, Associate Professor of Classics, who referenced some of Professor Gutzwiller’s many academic accomplishments, followed by a musical treat with Yo Shionoya on oboe and Janna Young on harp. Next, the event moved to the Blegen Library lobby for a champagne toast by Professor Jack Davis, followed by a reception with desserts from Happy Chick’s Bakery in Northside. The celebration also included a display of only a small selection of Professor Gutzwiller’s numerous publications, towered over by emperor Augustus wearing a laurel wreath, a symbol of triumph, along with a display of facsimiles and rare books of works by Hellenistic poets upon which Professor Gutzwiller has based much of her original and groundbreaking research.

The guest of honor, Kathryn Gutzwiller, John Miller Burnam Professor of Classics, with Classics faculty members Lauren Ginsberg, Jack Davis, Marion Kruse, Kathleen Lynch, Steven Ellis (in the back) as well as Classics graduate students, many of whom are students of Professor Gutzwiller.

Professor Jack Davis, Chair of the Classics Department, and Associate Professor Susan Prince who gave a toast and speech in honor of Professor Gutzwiller.

In the middle of the first row: Associate Professors of Classics, Daniel Markovich and Lauren Ginsberg; second row: Visiting Assistant Professor David Stifler and Assistant Professors Mirjam Kotwick, Calloway Scott, and Marion Kruse.

Susan Prince, Associate Professor of Classics, gave a laudatory speech honoring Professor Gutzwiller.

Janna Young on harp and Yo Shionoya on oboe, both graduate students at the UC College-Conservatory of Music, performed “Nightingale and Rose” by Saint-Saens and “Ombra Mai Fu” by Handel.

In addition to a card signed by all the classics faculty and staff, grad students, and Tytus fellows, the Library gave a notebook to Professor Gutzwiller with a motto that all agree perfectly fits her: “she believed she could [and] so she did.”

Professor Jack Davis gave a thoughtful yet good-humored champagne toast in honor of Professor Gutzwiller in the Blegen Library lobby.

Toastmaster Professor Davis had a captive audience. Jeffrey Kramer, the Archivist in the Classics Department, in the foreground.

All toasters were of age; graduate students Gabrielle Busnelli, Tiziano Boggio, Jakob Froelich, Luiza dos Santos Souza, Austin Hattori, Cecilia Cozzi, Simone Agrimonti, with faculty members Calloway Scott and Daniel Markovich.

The reception featured cakes from Happy Chick’s Bakery in Northside with the text “Dr. Kathryn Gutzwiller — John Miller Burnam — Professor of Classics — November 20 2019.” The flavors comprised chocolate orange, strawberry lemonade, vanilla rose, and ginger chai.

Displays of a selection of Professor Gutzwiller’s works, towered over by a bust of Roman emperor Augustus, and with a deer. Professor Gutzwiller and her husband Bob are great supporters of the deer in their neighborhood of Clifton.  In the glass case are rare books and facsimiles of the works of Hellenistic poets, such as Menander and Callimachus, upon whose texts much of Professor Gutzwiller’s research is based. She has published several books on Hellenistic poetry: Studies in the Hellenistic Epyllion (1981), Theocritus’ Pastoral Analogies: The Formation of a Genre (1991), Poetic Garlands: Hellenistic Epigrams in Context (1998), and The Guide to Hellenistic Literature (2007). She edited a volume on a new collection of epigrams by Posidippus found on a papyrus, The New Posidippus: A Hellenistic Poetry Book (2005, rev. ed. 2008), and has written several peer reviewed journal articles, too many to list here.

CONGRATULATIONS KATHRYN GUTZWILLER,
JOHN MILLER BURNAM PROFESSOR OF CLASSICS!

After weeks of excavating several layers of dust particles, mostly dog hairs, and what may be interpreted as children’s toys, textiles, and tools in his attic, our very own bibliographer/archaeologist/coin enthusiast/dog lover Mike Braunlin made what could only be described as the discovery of a lifetime, move over Griffin Warrior, namely the partial skeletal remains (a surprisingly small head and large hands) of one of the greatest of the ancient Romans, none other than the orator, lawyer, politician, Republican (not the Trump kind), good father, less great husband, Marcus Tullius Cicero. The identification is virtually certain since a paper fragment was attached with the text: “Caveat Rhetor: Cicero olim fui” in addition to a rostrum (the rostra of Rome?). AIA’s gold medal is a given for the explorer himself.

— Mike, please tell us; how did it feel when you made this remarkable discovery?

Mike: Well, Rebecka, words alone serve as an inadequate vessel to contain the depth of my emotions when I opened that box and saw “things…yes, wonderful things.” Let it only be noted that by the time I had descended my ladder, but before I was able with trembling fingers and benumbed legs to convey that precious cargo into my house, I used up my 2 remaining Depends, and Susan had to drive to Kroger’s to purchase another package for me. In short, it was a very moving experience.

— Would you say that this find equals Carter’s discovery of the tomb of King Tut and Schliemann’s discovery of Troy?

Mike: A modest man is a wise man. Let others judge.

— What’s next for the intrepid adventurer? Searching for Atlantis?

Mike: Besides my immediate concern of plotting the closest restrooms on my twice daily trek to and from the University Garage, I want to confirm once and for all my long held belief that the existence of the Byzantines proves that space aliens interbred with local populations in the eastern Mediterranean in late antiquity. While the coin portraiture of the 7th through 15th centuries should alone convince even the skeptic, as just a few of my numerous examples show in the photos below, I suppose the die-hard opponents of this truth will only bow before the Light of Science. As my many intimates know, I WAS abducted by space aliens one dark November evening while I was bicycling home from a Boy Scout meeting in 1966. Little did my tormentors know that they themselves would someday provide evidence of their existence. I managed to take a bite out of one of those space-oddities while they were attaching a brain waive monitor to my head. As we all know, alien flesh does not decompose (they are like plastic bottles that way), and I still have a chunk of that nastiness wedged between my teeth. We’ve just got to dig up some Byzantine bones and match their DNA with the stuff I’m currently trying to dislodge with my tongue. Then let my detractors laugh no more!

— There you have it. In spite of his exceptional discovery, Mike Braunlin remains modest and grounded in reality and is anxious to continue his search for the remains of dead people, whether of this or other worlds.

The skeletal remains of Cicero is temporarily (until October 31) on display on the mezzanine of the John Miller Burnam Classics Library.  Entrance is free. Do not touch.