K-L Selig was my professor when I was an undergrad at Columbia, and he is probably the main reason I chose to dedicate most of my academic energy to picaresque novels and Cervantes. I remember he once told my class, in his inimitable Teutonic accent (with a touch of Texas) that the best (in fact the only) way to eat a pomegranate was in the bathtub! Bob Stone 2013/5/21 Lauer, A Robert <[log in to unmask]> > *From:* [log in to unmask] [[log in to unmask]] > *Sent:* Sunday, May 19, 2013 10:09 > *To:* Lauer, A Robert > *Subject:* Re: Tristes noticias > > Selig was a great scholar and person. I have only good memories of > him. May he rest in peace. > > Dario Fernandez-Morera > Northwestern University > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Lauer, A Robert <[log in to unmask]> > To: CERVANTES-L <[log in to unmask]> > Sent: Sun, May 19, 2013 6:02 am > Subject: FW: Tristes noticias > > *From:* Cull, John [[log in to unmask]] > *Sent:* Saturday, May 18, 2013 13:21 > *To:* Lauer, A Robert > *Subject:* Re: Karl-Ludwig Selig > > Estimado Profesor Lauer, > > No recuerdo haber visto en este listserve (ni en otro alguno) > noticias sobre el fallecimiento reciente de un hispanista > distinguido y pionero en el estudio de la emblemática hispana: > Karl-Ludwig Selig. A continuación le copio el "In memoriam" > que apareció en una comunicación de Columbia University: > > *Karl-Ludwig Selig*, professor emeritus of Spanish and Portuguese and a > Cervantes scholar, died on December 1, 2012, on the Upper West Side. He was > 86. > Selig is regarded as one of the world’s foremost experts on Cervantes’ Don > Quixote. Known for his course “The Novella: from Boccaccio to Cervantes,” > Selig passionately made the case that the modern novel is dependent on > Cervantes’ picaresque work. He also taught “Masterpieces of Western > Literature and Philosophy II,” also known as “Super Lit Hum.” > > PHOTO: LORI GRINKER / CONTACT PRESS IMAGES > Those who took Selig’s class “could never get the books, or the professor, > out of [their] mind. Fifty years later, people can recite his lectures,” > said Christopher Allegaert ’78 in a recent Spectator article. > Selig was born into a Jewish family in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1926. He and > his parents fled to the United Kingdom in 1939, before the start of WWII, > relocating to Erie, Pa. Selig earned a B.A. from Ohio State, where he also > swam; an M.A. from Ohio State; and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas, > where he later taught. He received his United States citizenship in 1948 > and taught at the University of Minnesota, Johns Hopkins, North Carolina > and Cornell before joining Columbia in 1966. Selig was presented Columbia’s > Mark Van Doren Award for Teaching in 1974. After leaving Columbia in > 1989, he taught at the University of the South (Sewanee) and at the > University of Greifswald, Germany. > Selig wrote or co-authored 45 books, many of which have been translated > into multiple languages. > Selig always was willing and excited to speak with his students, and > dozens attended his 86th birthday celebration last August. > Harper’s Magazine Publisher John MacArthur ’78 referenced Selig last year > in his Class Day address: “He wanted you to embrace the text, to read it > with rigor, but also with pleasure. However, like all of my best > professors, Selig insisted that reading text was a fundamentally serious > endeavor, that text must be respected.” > “He was resolved to fight as only a devotee of Don Quixote could,” said > another former student, Dennis Klainberg ’84, “by staying optimistic, > fighting to live another day and keeping in close touch with all his > friends, colleagues and especially, his beloved students.” > Selig had an appreciation for the rowing team, which named two sculls > after him. A remembrance will be held for him this spring at the Columbia > Class of 1929 Boathouse. > *Former students may share memories of Selig on the “Fans of Karl-Ludwig > Selig” group on Facebook. Several of Selig’s former students have taken > up a collection for his caretaker, Gilbert Adiaba. For information on how > to donate, contact Dennis Klainberg ’84 (**[log in to unmask]**) or > Ted Allegaert ’87 (**[log in to unmask]**).* > > Un saludo cordial, >> > John T. Cull > > ------------------------------ > NB de ARL: Gracias, John. Es en efecto una triste noticia. Lleguéa conocera Karl-Ludwig Selig en la MLA (haceaños) > y después nos comunicamos brevemente por e-mail. Mi impresión fue siemprede queera un hombre muy > sabio y muy bondadoso. Por lo que leo, habría sido maravilloso haber > tenido clases con él. Saludos cordiales. > > >