University Times

Former English professor and department chair Robert Benedict Hinman died Jan. 2, 2011. He was 90.

Hinman was raised in Detroit, earning his bachelor’s degree  Phi Beta Kappa at Wayne State in 1941. His graduate degree was delayed by World War II, during which Hinman served aboard a Navy minesweeper and earned the rank of lieutenant. He was a junior instructor at Johns Hopkins 1946-48 and earned his PhD in English literature there in 1953.

Hinman was a faculty member at Rochester 1948-69 and at Emory 1969-73. In 1973 he was recruited to chair Pitt’s English department, a position he held until 1977. He also directed graduate studies at both Emory and Pitt.

Hinman published work on a number of authors but his 1960 book, “Abraham Cowley’s World of Order,” is regarded as his most important scholarly publication.

He taught a wide range of courses but his favorites were on Chaucer, Spenser and 17th-century poetry, colleagues said. Although he retired in 1990, Hinman remained active in the department for several years. In his retirement he especially enjoyed teaching children’s literature and for many years continued to host informal sessions on Spenser and Milton that drew students to his home. “He had a wide and deep following from the graduate students,” said colleague Stephen Carr, adding that Hinman maintained both personal and professional correspondence with many of them.

An expert in 17th-century British literature, Hinman enjoyed Chaucer, Milton and 17th century poetry in general, retired English professor Robert Gale recalled. “He had a phenomenal memory,” Gale said, noting his friend’s ability to recite lengthy passages of poetry.

Carr said Hinman was very widely read, “well beyond professional interest,” both in literature and secondary criticism. “What’s more, he could remember and cite it well.”

Hinman represented an era in which English scholarship was largely defined by the study of literature and period, Carr said. “He was a tie to a quite different formation, a generous and thoughtful representative of that time.”

Carr said he especially cherished Hinman’s forgiving spirit, noting that their earliest interactions in the department were based in conflict. Study in the field was moving toward an emphasis on theory, curricula were changing and the direction of the English department was being debated hotly. “He and I were on opposite sides of the issue,” Carr recalled. Ultimately, the point of view to which Carr subscribed prevailed, but Hinman graciously didn’t hold a grudge and the two eventually found common ground.

“We bonded over a wonderful children’s book,” Carr recalled. The tale, “Beautiful Joe,” popular at the turn of the 20th century, told the story of a dog rescued from an abusive master from the animal’s point of view. Hinman had read the book as a child, Carr said. “It was the beginning of a longstanding friendship.”

Hinman loved Christmas and had hundreds of crèches, which he would challenge Carr’s children to count. Although he was not religious, “he loved the spirit of the holidays, good will among men,” said Carr. Friends relished Hinman’s annual Christmas letter, a document rich in excerpted poetry that could stretch to a dozen or more pages. “Each was a collection of literary materials that had a theme as well as personal meaning to him,” Carr said.

Unable to walk following injuries sustained in a 2004 fall, Hinman most recently lived in the Schenley Gardens assisted living facility. The move forced him to part with his own collection of books, but he continued to be an avid reader, said Gale, who would deliver library books to Hinman.

“He relished the intellectual life and stayed sharp. He was stoical about it all,” Gale said. Hinman also continued to write, with his most recent work focused on Dickens’s novels, colleagues said.

Hinman is survived by his wife, Janet; sons Kirk, Louis and James Hinman; daughter Margaret Haas, and grandchildren Genevieve, Julia and Zachary Haas and Alexander and Avery Hinman.

The family suggests memorial donations to www.giving.wayne.edu or www.aclu.org. A memorial gathering is being planned.

—Kimberly K. Barlow