Michael Goldman, professor of English, emeritus, scholar of Shakespeare and Ibsen, accomplished poet and one of the most distinguished voices in American dramatic criticism, died at home in Manhattan on Aug. 17, 2023. He was 87.
Michael Goldman, professor of English, emeritus, scholar of Shakespeare and Ibsen, accomplished poet and one of the most distinguished voices in American dramatic criticism, died at home in Manhattan on Aug. 17, 2023. He was 87.
When my wife was a post-doc at Princeton in 1975-1976, I was still a student at the Yale School of Drama, commuting back and forth between Princeton and New Haven. Fortunately, Michael’s illuminating seminar on Modern Drama was on one of the days that I was in Princeton; Michael gave me the gift of letting me take the course. Twenty years later when I returned to Princeton as a faculty member, he became a mentor and friend, giving wise counsel, taking me out to lunch at the old Annex, and making me feel welcome and at home. His brilliant insights about the relationship between actor, play, and audience informed my thinking about theater; but it’s his generosity, graciousness, and humanity for which I’ll be forever grateful. He was a mensch and role model.