As a young man, the late Marcus Allen studied French through frigid Pittsburgh winters, warming himself by the heat of his kitchen stove.
He captured his experiences in his autobiography “.” A copy of the book is housed in the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University in New Orleans.
“During those days, Pittsburgh was an ethnic town,” he wrote. “Each group staked out a little piece of the land and defended it vehemently. The rich lived in the far off suburbs where steel mills belching smoke and flames did not pollute the air. Blacks were left to live on the side streets and in the alleys.”
“Although Marcus came from humble circumstances, he had a goal in life, and he found a means to reach it,” said Mary Allen, his wife.
After serving in World War II and earning a PhD in French from the , he would go onto become a beloved scholar and mentor. Over a fruitful career, he would write internationally lauded articles on , win the 1972 , serve as a member of and play an integral role in growing the University of 欧美日b大片–St. Louis.
Not only did he institute UMSL’s exchange student program, lead the Department of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures and serve on strategic planning committees, he offered students guidance and friendship.
Reviewed 2015-09-15