Joseph V. Ridgely (1921–2014)

Longtime member of the PSA, Joseph V. Ridgely, Emeritus Professor of English, Columbia University, died September 27, 2014, in Silver Spring, Maryland, where he had resided for many years, commuting via train to Columbia University. Ridgely was a longtime specialist in Southern writers and writing; his books include Nineteenth-century Southern Literature (University of Kentucky Press, 1980), John Pendleton Kennedy (Twayne, 1966), and William Gilmore Simms (Twayne, 1962). He also performed great service to Poe studies by assisting Burton Pollin with the volume on the Southern Literary Messenger, in the Collected Writings of Edgar Allan Poe, for which Pollin served as editor-in-chief. This book was Number 5 in the series. During his long teaching career, Ridgely offered seminars on Poe. In those classes and others, Ridgely inspired generations of students, who enjoyed the course topics and the professor. Although he was long retired, he continued to communicate with and unhesitatingly furnished assistance to seasoned and novice scholars alike. His scholarly enthusiasm and humor will be greatly missed.