Evelyn Catherine Shakir died on Sunday, May 30, 2010 after a two year struggle with cancer. During this time she was buoyed by friends, neighbors, colleagues, and family who read and sang to her, and shared dozens of messages that described her as an inspirational teacher, a pioneer in Arab American Studies, an award winning writer, and a devoted and generous human being.
A native of Boston, she distinguished herself at Girls’ Latin School, Wellesley College, Harvard University, and Boston University where she earned a PhD in English. She taught at Northeastern University, Berkshire Community College, Tufts University, and, for seventeen years at Bentley College (now Bentley University) until she retired in 2004 as a professor emerita. Always devoted to the achievement of her students, she is described by Dr. Herbert Sawyer, a colleague and fellow of the Russian Research Center at Harvard University, as a model of “rectitude and commitment.”
After writing on a range of literary figures ranging from Wordsworth and Louisa May Alcott to D. H. Lawrence, she found her subject material in her own community -- specifically, Arab American women, a group whose voices were largely unheard and unacknowledged. For these women, she provided a voice, and in Bint Arab and her award winning collection of short fiction, Remember Me to Lebanon, a treasure of lived experience. Readers unfamiliar with Arab American women came to know them as we seek to know one another--as people rather than as stereotypes. Of the significance of her work, poet Lisa Majaj observes “her ripples will widen outward for a very long time.”
Underway are plans for a scholarship in her name at the University of Michigan and a display in recognition of her achievement at the Arab American Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
In addition to gifts to institutions of health care and art, she leaves much to family and friends. Hers is a legacy of generosity and integrity; she impressed all who knew her, even briefly, with her desire to leave the world a better place for her passage through it.
In a final note to Evelyn, poet D. H. Melhem expresses gratitude “at how important you have been to world literature in presenting your own work and supporting the work of others--it’s humbling. You do good without fanfare, because you are a dear and generous person, because your heart is open to the needs and the value of others. The world is such a sorry place. A human being like you is its rarest and finest expression.”
She leaves behind a brother, Philip, her life companion, George Ellenbogen, and numerous cousins. Visiting hours were held June 2, 2010 at the Kfoury Keefe Funeral Home, 8 Spring Street, West Roxbury. A celebration of her life is planned for the fall.
Contributions in Evelyn’s memory may be made to the Evelyn C. Shakir Memorial Scholarship Fund c/o Prof. J. Newpol, Bentley University 175 Forest St. Waltham, MA 02452.