Full Text of SR0474 101st General Assembly
SR0474 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of Robin O. Metz, who passed away on | 4 | | November 27, 2018 at the age of 76; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Robin Metz was born on January 4, 1942; in 1960, | 6 | | he graduated from Baldwin High School in Pennsylvania, where he | 7 | | lettered in football, baseball, and wrestling; he was later | 8 | | awarded a football scholarship to Princeton University, where | 9 | | he earned a bachelor's degree in English in 1964; he went on to | 10 | | the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he earned a | 11 | | master's degree in fine arts in 1967; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, At the Iowa Writers' Workshop, Robin Metz studied | 13 | | with novelist Philip Roth, his first writing mentor; acclaimed | 14 | | novelist Kurt Vonnegut also greatly influenced his | 15 | | distinguished career; after leaving the workshop, he began | 16 | | teaching at Knox College in Galesburg in 1967, where he | 17 | | remained for 51 years; never having retired, he earned the | 18 | | distinction of longest-serving member of the Knox faculty; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Robin Metz was an internationally-recognized poet | 20 | | and author; he was a co-founder and director of Knox's renowned | 21 | | Program in Creative Writing, where he served as director from | 22 | | 1985 onward; he held the Philip Sidney Post Professorship of |
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| 1 | | English, teaching all levels of writing at Knox, from | 2 | | introductory courses in fiction, poetry, and playwriting, to | 3 | | Senior Portfolio, the capstone experience for all writing | 4 | | majors, as well as literature courses, including Modern | 5 | | English/Irish Literature and Contemporary American Fiction; as | 6 | | of last year, he was developing new courses, including Poetry | 7 | | for the Clouds and Environmental Literature, Film, and Art; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Robin Metz was known for his focus on the creative | 9 | | process, for developing and mentoring student authors, for | 10 | | leading students across the pond at Knox for coursework in | 11 | | London Arts Alive, and for teaching writing about the natural | 12 | | imagination in a renovated horse barn 20 miles from campus at | 13 | | Knox's Green Oaks Biological Field Station; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Robin Metz married Elizabeth Carlin, a fellow | 15 | | instructor at Knox, the chair of the Knox Theater Department, | 16 | | and the Smith V. Brand Distinguished Professor of Theatre, in | 17 | | 1995; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Robin Metz and Liz Carlin Metz lived in Galesburg | 19 | | and at Buck Creek Farm in Ferryville, Wisconsin, which included | 20 | | a renovated 1850 farmhouse; they opened the farm, situated a | 21 | | quarter mile from the Mississippi River, to students as a | 22 | | retreat during Knox Farm term; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Robin Metz had a tremendous appreciation for | 2 | | nature, particularly at his Ferryville farm, where he planted | 3 | | 25,000 trees and learned about bird song, wild flowers, and | 4 | | trees; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, The poems, short stories, and other works of | 6 | | fiction by Robin Metz were published countless times; he | 7 | | presented his work internationally in 24 nations and | 8 | | approximately 80 American cities; in 2018, three of his poems | 9 | | were published in The American Writers Review; he also | 10 | | presented a reading of his poetry as the featured reader at The | 11 | | Yale University Club in Manhattan and will be represented in a | 12 | | forthcoming book derived from a year of the Yale Poets reading | 13 | | series; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Robin Metz received many awards, including the | 15 | | Ranier Maria Rilke International Poetry Prize for his book of | 16 | | poetry, Unbidden Angel, the Dylan Thomas Poetry Prize, the | 17 | | Marshall Frankel American Fiction Prize, the Caterpillar | 18 | | Faculty Achievement Award for outstanding creative and | 19 | | scholarly achievement, and Knox's Philip Green Wright Prize for | 20 | | distinguished teaching for both junior and senior faculty; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Together, Robin Metz and Liz Carlin Metz founded | 22 | | Vitalist Theatre, a critically-acclaimed and award-winning | 23 | | Chicago-based theatre company; Robin also served as the faculty |
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| 1 | | advisor to Catch, Knox's award-winning literary and arts | 2 | | journal; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Robin Metz had begun the practice of bringing to | 4 | | Knox poets, fiction writers, playwrights, screenwriters, | 5 | | essayists, and scholars to share their work and impress upon | 6 | | students the wonders of the spoken and written word; he and Liz | 7 | | established the Robin Metz Fund for the Creative Arts to honor | 8 | | his more than half-century legacy to Knox's English Department | 9 | | and to continue this interaction between artists and the Knox | 10 | | community in perpetuity; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Robin Metz was an admired mentor, influential | 12 | | teacher, and dear friend to many of his former students with | 13 | | whom he maintained endearing friendships, including Senator | 14 | | Don Harmon, English writing major, Knox College Class of 1988; | 15 | | and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, Robin Metz is survived by his wife, Liz Carlin | 17 | | Metz; his daughters, Lisa Metz and Ronnah Metz; and his | 18 | | grandsons, Griffin Belzer, Ben Belzer, Duncan Metz Beard, and | 19 | | Ambrose Metz Beard; therefore, be it
| 20 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | 21 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 22 | | Robin O. Metz and extend our sincere condolences to his family, |
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| 1 | | friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further
| 2 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 3 | | presented to the family of Robin Metz and to Knox College as an | 4 | | expression of our deepest sympathy.
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