Doris E. Abramson

Doris E. Abramson NEW SALEM- Doris E. Abramson, 82, Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, died on Monday morning, January 7, 2008, after a brief period of failing health, at the home she shared with her partner, Dorothy Johnson, in New Salem. At the University, Abramson taught theater history and oral interpretation of literature as a member of the English, Speech, and Theater departments. Abramson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, the daughter of Emil and Charlotte Abramson who both worked at was then Massachusetts Agricultural College. She earned her Bachelor?s Degree from that institution in 1949 and her Master?s Degree from Smith College in 1951. She received her Ph. D. In theater history from Columbia University in 1967. After teaching briefly at Wheaton College, Professor Abramson returned to the University of Massachusetts where she taught until her retirement in 1987. She was recognized by the University with its Distinguished Teaching Award in 1978. Among those she counted as her students were Richard Gere, Bill Pullman, Connie Congdon, and other well known artists. In 1999, Abramson was awarded the Chancellor?s Medal and returned to the University to deliver ?Places and Persons?, the Convocation Address at Homecoming, in which she called beloved teachers as well as her own first faculty office, ?a kind of broom closet..........in the Old Chapel basement.? As a scholar, Abramson was a pioneer in the field of African American Theatre. Her book, ?Negro Playwrights in the American Theater, 1925-1959", published in 1969 by Columbia University Press, became a classic. Upon her retirement, Abramson was honored at the University conference on African American Theater attended by Alice Childress, James Baldwin, William Branch, and others. Abramson also served as the Drama Editor of the ?Massachusetts Review?. In addition to her teaching and scholarship, Abramson was a frequent director of plays at the University. Among the productions for which she is remembered are Arthur Miller?s ?Memory of Two Mondays?, George Bernard Shaw?s ?Major Barbara?, Inoesco?s ?Exit the King?, and Sophie Treadwell?s ?Machinal?. She was also well known as a reader, on many public occasions, of Emily Dickinson?s poetry. A CD recording of Abramson reading Dickinson is available at the Dickinson house in Amherst. For a number of years after her retirement, Abramson was co-owner with Dorothy Johnson of the Common Reader Bookshop in New Salem. The bookstore, known among other things for its collection of used and rare books by women writers, became a destination for book lovers from near and far. Also in her retirement, Abramson became a poet in her own right. Growing up in Amherst, poetry was the air she breathed. Though she never ?went to school with? Emily Dickinson, she did count among her friends, poets Anne Halley, Adrienne Rich, Michelle Cliff, Robert Francis, Joe Langland, Stan Koehler, and many others. In the two collections of her own poetry , ?Its Time? and ?Time Will Tell?, the ordinary becomes extraordinary through her trenchant wit and wordcraft. As she wrote in the introduction to ?Time Will Tell?, ?Perhaps we write memooirs or personal poems to be sure we are still here.? And so she is- in the cherished memories of so many. In addition to Dorothy Johnson, her partner of forty-plus years, Abramson is survived by scores of life-long friends and devoted former students, many of whom joined them in decades of generous hospitality and celebration of community at their New Salem home. She is survived by her brother, Charles Abramson and his wife, Mary, of Amherst, their children, Cathy Canales of Williamstown, Michael of South Deerfield, and Charles of Sunderland. A Memorial service will be held at Bowker Auditorium, University Of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01002 at 11:00AM. Memorial contributions may be made to the Gardner VNA, 34 Pearly Lane, Gardner, MA 01440, or to your local hospice organization, or to the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society, 163 Montague Road, Leverett, MA 01054. Witty?s Funeral Home, 158 South Main Street, Orange, is directing the arrangements. Guest register available at www.wittyfuneralhome.com