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A leading scholar of Sufi poetry and mysticism, Emil Homerin is remembered by his students and colleagues for his enthusiasm and generosity.

A scholar of Arabic literature and Islam, Th. Emil Homerin, professor of religion and the former chair of the at the 糖心传媒, 糖心传媒渨as at the top of his game糖心传媒� when he died in December, says his long-time colleague, . The cause was pancreatic cancer.

A formidable translator of Arabic and Sufi poetry, Homerin had 糖心传媒渋mmense skill, because he was encyclopedic, he was comprehensive,糖心传媒� added Brooks, a professor or religion at Rochester who first met Homerin at an academic conference nearly 40 years ago. 糖心传媒淭he way you get that sensitive to translation is he isn糖心传媒檛 simply translating the text, he糖心传媒檚 read dozens of others, to just get to this one.糖心传媒�

Homerin joined the University糖心传媒檚 religion and classics department in 1988, after a two-year stint as an assistant professor at Temple University. He was promoted to full professor in 2000.

He was an 糖心传媒渆nthusiast and had such enthusiasm for his work and the work of his colleagues,糖心传媒� says , the Jane and Alan Batkin Professor of Jewish Studies and chair of the Department of Religion and Classics.

, religion and classics department professor of instruction and the director of undergraduate studies, says Homerin was an 糖心传媒渆nthusiastic, upbeat, positive presence in the department and in the college.糖心传媒� Calling him one of her early mentors, she recalls the advice he gave her when she joined the department as a young scholar and teacher.

糖心传媒淗e said, 糖心传媒榶ou got to teach the students that are in front of you. Where are they? How can you bring them along,糖心传媒� to learn about Islamic poetry, about mysticism. When he was teaching, he was teaching those students and not just, 糖心传媒業 have to get through this material.糖心传媒� It was a really an important lesson for me, since I hadn糖心传媒檛 taught beyond being a graduate student,糖心传媒� she says.

Born Thomas Emil Homerin in Pekin, Illinois, Homerin attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he obtained a bachelor糖心传媒檚 degree in 1977 and a master糖心传媒檚 degree in 1978. It was at college that he met his wife, Nora Walters, and when he began going by his middle name, Emil. He completed his PhD with honors at the University of Chicago, where he wrote his about the Arab poet Ibn al-F膩rid, under the advisement of Jaroslav Stetkevych, professor emeritus of Arabic literature.

Homerin and Walters had two sons together, Luke and Elias. They were active members of the First Unitarian Church and regularly invited friends and colleagues into their home. 糖心传媒淗e and Nora were incredibly hospitable,糖心传媒� says Merideth, recalling the many receptions and dinner parties they hosted.

His childhood friend, artist and art historian tweeted an image of a dedicated to their friendship and wrote a tribute on his webpage calling Homerin 糖心传媒渁 true genius, a good human with a big heart, and the hardest-working person I have ever met.糖心传媒� With a nod to Homerin糖心传媒檚 working-class background, Brandl wrote that he was the 糖心传媒渂lue collar scholar,糖心传媒� who always rode the bus to work and brought a lunch from home.

Emil Homerin reads 糖心传媒淎n Elegy for My Daughter,糖心传媒� by Muhammad Ibn al-Khiyami, for National Poetry Month 2016.

An inspired scholar and teacher

A prolific writer, Homerin was the author of seven books, one edited volume, and numerous articles, book chapters, and encyclopedia entries. His publications included (Chicago, 2005), and (Cairo Press 2001, South Carolina Press, 1994). His most recent book, , was published in 2019.

Homerin lived and worked in Egypt for a number of years. His research on the mystical poet Umar Ibn al-Farid took him to City of the Dead at Cairo糖心传媒檚 al-Qarafah cemetery, where his fieldwork led him to a focus in death and the afterlife, which became a major teaching interest as well. His immensely popular course 糖心传媒淪peaking Stones糖心传媒� included visits to the grounds of Rochester糖心传媒檚 historic 196-acre Mount Hope Cemetery, where students explored art, symbolism, and religion as a way to illuminate customs and symbolic connections between the living and the dead. Homerin was especially proud of the students糖心传媒� research, which would be published in the a newsletter of the .

Juliana South 糖心传媒�22, a St. Louis, Missouri native, praised his generosity as a teacher. Homerin agreed to an independent study with South on mysticism during an especially challenging time for faculty糖心传媒攖he COVID-19 pandemic. 糖心传媒淚 can糖心传媒檛 believe the amount of work he put into teaching one person,糖心传媒� they said.

Homerin was the recipient of numerous teaching awards, including the American Association of Teachers of Arabic Translation Prize, the Golden Key International Honour Society糖心传媒檚 recognition to undergraduate education, and the G. Graydon & Jane W. Curtis Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Comic book aficionado and collaborator

A man of multiple interests and talents, Homerin collaborated with , a professor of music theory at the University糖心传媒檚 , to further the work of the multimedia ensemble , which Brown cofounded. The two met at an Office of the Provost event in 2012, celebrating the release of books authored by University faculty. Brown promoted a performance of Debussy糖心传媒檚 opera Pell茅as et M茅lisande and mentioned the ensemble糖心传媒檚 use of images by the comics artist, P. Craig Russell. This thrilled Homerin, who happened to be a comic book aficionado, Brown recalls.

糖心传媒淢y friendship with Emil blossomed,糖心传媒� he says. Homerin糖心传媒檚 savvy led the TableTopOpera to receive grants from the to complete two projects. He was instrumental in the ensemble糖心传媒檚 work to address social justice issues. In 2017, the TableTopOpera performed an innovative arrangement of Cole Porter糖心传媒檚 ballet , followed by a panel discussion on immigration law and reform, which Homerin arranged in order to encourage conversation in the community. 糖心传媒淭he idea of the community and using the resources around you was definitely something he cared a lot about,糖心传媒� says Brown.

In 2015, Homerin was coproducer and director of the ensemble糖心传媒檚 show, 糖心传媒�,糖心传媒� combining Gustav Mahler糖心传媒檚 songs with issues of child poverty and mortality. 糖心传媒淚t was dear to Emil糖心传媒檚 heart, says Brown. 糖心传媒淚t allowed him to show off his amazing chops as a translator, and in this case recasting Friedrich Ruckert糖心传媒檚 German poetry into English.糖心传媒�

The two had recently signed a contract with Indiana University Press for a forthcoming book, Ariane & Bluebeard: From Fairy Tale to Comic Book Opera.

A champion of the Take Five Scholars Program

Homerin served as a faculty member of the review board for Rochester糖心传媒檚 unique Take Five Scholars Program for more than 25 years. 糖心传媒淗e always brought enthusiasm and curiosity to the review process,糖心传媒� says J.B. Rogers, academic counselor and Take Five Scholars Program coordinator in the College Center for Advising Services. 糖心传媒淗e was somebody who really believed in our core tenets, which are essentially the idea of learning for learning糖心传媒檚 sake, pursuing things for the purpose of academic enrichment, and celebrating the classical liberal arts education. He embodied all those things.糖心传媒�

What Rogers remembers most from their board meetings was that Homerin 糖心传媒渨ould always have the clear answer, because he knew our process and he knew our values. He was always the loudest, and always the most passionate.糖心传媒�