This spring, Professor of English Dr. John Tatter retires after 36 years on the Hilltop. His main scholarly interests include Restoration drama and the connection between English pastoral poetry, landscape painting, and gardening in the 18^th century. He regularly offered English courses in satire, gender issues in the drama, and literature and the visual arts and has served as the director of the Harrison Honors Program.

To celebrate Dr. Tatter, English alumna Hannah Scofield ’19 collected stories about him from those who know him best – faculty, friends, and former students.

• • •

“I had John for my first literature course at BSC, Intro to Fiction, as a first-year who had been a summer scholar – so I thought I had this place on lock. For our first paper, we had to write about, if I recall correctly, a Raymond Chandler story, and I, being young and naïve, wrote my paper the night before, believing myself the greatest writer of all time (so I could definitely pull that off). John sniffed that out immediately, of course, gave me my first F ever, and told me in no uncertain terms that I would have to rewrite the paper for no more than a B. To this day, I believe this action was the most pivotal lesson I learned at BSC, and perhaps in life.

Another story came when I was a student with British Studies at Oxford in the summer of 1991. The topic was the Renaissance, so John wasn’t teaching that year, but came over to do garden research at Stowe, which is about 25 miles from Oxford, and invited me and another student to join him. I did not enjoy the hours-long trip slow-trudging through Stowe and wasn’t shy about telling him repeatedly about how stupid I thought the 18^th century landscape designers were with their ha-has and random statues and vestal temples (I much prefer the overgrown Romantics in everything). He says there’ve been only two people who ever had the guts to disparage this most sacred garden of his to his face: me and his wife.

When I was interviewing for my present position in the Library, John came in from sabbatical (and before E-Term started for the students) to make sure there was at least one familiar and friendly face in the audience while I was giving my public presentation. That was such a gift.”

– GK Armstrong ’92, assistant professor of the Library

“When we did hire him, oh so many years ago, I remember him saying that one of the things that drew him to BSC from the small town in which he was teaching was that Birmingham had more than one variety of lettuce.

Also, do you know that he does some impressive pen and ink sketches? I have a lovely one of Notre Dame, Paris, he did.”

– Dr. Susan K. Hagen, Mary Collett Munger Professor Emerita of English and former interim provost

“John is proof that you shouldn’t assume interests intersect in ways you most expect. I never in my life thought I would meet someone who would be so enthusiastic about English gardens and riding motorcycles.”

– Prof. Joseph Stitt, associate lecturer of English

“I’m sure that somewhere in Dr. Tatter’s well-organized files, there are blueprints of the renovation of Phillips Science into the Humanities Center in 2003. Finally, the Humanities faculty and students were together in one building, rather than stationed all across campus in random places. In true 18^th century fashion, John planned artfully each detail of HC, as if each space were part of a garden. He planned a reader’s theatre for poetry and fiction readings as well. His virtual landscape gardening was, I think, recognized by the BBC. Maybe we could hit up the BBC for a donation to BSC?  Pass the virtual hat again, please, Dr. Tatter.

For one of his sabbaticals, John seriously studied and produced landscape paintings. “Interdisciplinary” is not a word that John used lightly or allowed students to use lightly. He expected and required interdisciplinary scholarship as a rigorous and amplifying practice-of-course for students at this liberal arts college. Just ask the Harrison Honors Program students.

Tatter’s bulletin board is always a changing message board. Often he wishes he were in Paris. Often he poeticizes. Each year on May 4, he commemorates what happened at Kent State in 1970. A world before “Star Wars.”

Tatter bought a motorcycle. Tatter had a bad wreck and almost lost his foot. Once recovered, Tatter bought another motorcycle. He just told me recently that he’s going to invite Michael Flowers (who also, apparently, owns a motorcycle) to go on a celebratory retirement ride. John, go on a ride this hot soon-to-be summer. Be your daring and deliberate self. And eat at the original Dreamland if you drive in that direction. Walk in. Marvel that your foot is mostly intact. Order only ribs and bread – no sides. Absolutely no sides. If science says it’s OK, take off your mask and smear barbeque sauce all over your chin. If not, let that sauce dribble all over your mask.”

– Dr. Sandra Sprayberry, Robert E. Luckie, Jr. Professor of English