Emeritus English faculty member dies

Emerson L. Brown Jr., professor of English, emeritus, died March 19 of prostate cancer at Alive Hospice. He was 67. A respected Medievalist, he regaled students for 23 years until his retirement in 1998 with his dramatic presentations of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Dante's Commedia and his knowledge of the history, legend and literature surrounding King Arthur.

He was also known for his Dixieland jazz playing with bands both in upstate New York in the summer and in Nashville. In the 1990s, he performed on clarinet with Louis Brown's Firehouse Jazz Band, which broadcast live on Nashville radio station WAMB. He also was a hiker, mountain climber and kayak enthusiast.

A jazz memorial service will be held at the First Unitarian Church in Nashville at 2 p.m. April 6. His wife, Cynthia Mitchell Brown, said the musicians offered their services for free. But because her husband always insisted that musicians were entitled to be paid, the death benefit from the local chapter of the American Federation of Musicians will cover the cost.