Professor Emeritus of English Richard Ghormley Eberhart '26 died earlier this month, leaving behind an immortal legacy through his poetry.
A Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, Eberhart died of natural causes on June 9 at his home in Kendal-at-Hanover. He was 101 years of age.
Eberhart, who often espoused the longevity of verse, left a lasting effect on American poetry.
"Poems in a way are spells against death. They are milestones to see where you are now, to perpetuate your feelings, to establish them. If you have in any way touched the central heart of mankind's feelings, you'll survive," he said in a 1979 interview.
As a professor at Dartmouth, Eberhart achieved national prominence in the world of poetry. In 1966 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, commending his work, "Selected Poems, 1930-1965." He also received the Bollingen Prize for poetry from the Yale University library and the National Book Award.
Having written poetry since high school, Eberhart boasts a poetic career that spans over seven decades.
"He literally bridged from Robert Frost to this wonderful group of young poets that we have here today," College President James Wright said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Although Eberhart had not visited the campus for many years, his friend and colleague Cleopatra Mathis, professor of English and director of Dartmouth's creative writing program, said she feels his legacy will be lasting at Dartmouth.
"While institutional memory is short, Dick falls into the succession of poets that Dartmouth is known for," Mathis said. "He has always been a major figure in anthologies, and he will be remembered for a few really amazing poems."
Dartmouth provided Eberhart with the opportunity to write prolifically, according to his daughter, Gretchen Eberhart Cherington.
"There is a certain sensibility to a poet -- when a poet is delving into the most important questions about life and the world, there is a certain level of insecurity," Cherington said. "Dartmouth really provided him a lot of security so that he could ponder those questions. Surrounded by colleagues and students, he had the freedom to explore."
Through his poetry, Eberhart sought to tackle the questions of a moral universe, Mathis said.
"He wrote about grand subjects -- life and death over centuries and generations, the obliteration of war," she said, "He was a lyric poet who took on the great subjects."
Always supportive of young and emerging poets, Eberhart made significant contributions to creative writing at Dartmouth. Through the Butcher Fund for Young Poets, Eberhart and his wife, Betty, attempted to endow young poets with the necessary resources.
"When I came to Dartmouth, I came without very much money at my disposal. The only money that the creative writing program had came from Dick and Betty's generosity," Mathis said.
His generosity extended beyond just students, Cherington said.
"Many of my memories of him are at our place in Maine, and whomever he met, he would invite to come to Maine. And he would take them out on his boat," she said. "That's how most people think of him -- a broad smile on his face and a welcoming personality."
An avid traveler, Eberhart has been around the world, adding each stop to his portfolio of life experiences.
He toured across the South Pacific as a steamship crewman after receiving his B.A. from Dartmouth in 1926. He then earned a B.A. and an M.A. from St. John's College at Cambridge University before studying at the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Eberhart was later awarded the keys to the city of Bangkok and the Order of the Royal White Elephant for serving as the tutor for the son of King Prajadhipok of Siam in 1931.
He served as a Lieutenant and Lt. Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve during World War II. Upon leaving the Navy, Eberhart became assistant manager to the vice president of the Butcher Polish Company in Boston.
In 1952, deciding to resume a more academic life, Eberhart served as poet-in-residence, professor and lecturer at numerous universities before finally settling in Hanover in 1956 as an English professor and poet-in-residence at Dartmouth.
Distinguished for his philosophical and passionate poetry, Eberhart succeeded Robert Frost as consultant of poetry at the Library of Congress between 1959 and 1961. Also in 1959, President Dwight Eisenhower appointed him to the Advisory Committee on the Arts for the National Cultural Center in Washington, D.C.
Teaching at Dartmouth into his eighties, students kept him young, Cherington said. "They were like his family."
In addition to his daughter, Eberhart is survived by his son Richard Eberhart '68, and six grandchildren.
