Clark Mixon Emery’s Century

By Suzy Paluzzi

Always a scholar, Clark Emery was busy reading Virginia Woolf when we met. This is even more impressive since July 8, 2009 was a milestone mark for Clark Emery. He turned 100 years old.

When asked what the secret of his longevity is, Emery replies, “Good genes,” in a very tongue-in-cheek fashion. His wife, Jane Emery, adds, Clark’s motto is, ‘Take it easy, but take it.’

Clark Emery has indeed lived a full life. His second wife, Jane, whom he married when he was 77 and she was 69, created a book of photos, poetry, and biographical facts in honor of his birthday. The book testifies to their commitment to one another, as it was painstakingly composed, although Jane has very poor vision. The facts below are from that book, which is entitled “Clark’s Century.”

Clark was born in Marysville, California and his father was born in Maine, descended from a family that had come from England to America before the Mayflower landed on Plymouth Rock. His mother was from Kansas.

From an early age, Clark learned to work hard for his goals. He went to Whitman College in Washington with $500 to his name, and earned his meals by washing dishes.
He received a Master’s degree in only one year at Washington University in St. Louis and a PH.D at the University of Seattle.

Clark’s first teaching job was at Oregon State, where he met and married the librarian, Adele Kohn. Following that, the professor taught English at the University of Indiana in Bloomington. He and Adele had a son, John.

During World War II, Clark volunteered and became a naval officer. The family moved to New York and then to Washington, D.C., where he was involved in a secret military project.

Clark was then offered a position at the University of Miami when the war was over. He got his tenure there and played a vital part in the growth of the English department.

When asked what his greatest accomplishment is, Clark responds that it is “his book about Ezra Pound.” Clark Emery authored ten books and won a New York Critics’ Prize for one.

When Clark and his wife Adele made plans to retire and move to London, Adele contracted cancer. She died of the disease. Their son, John, died two years later from cancer. He left behind two sons and a wife.

Jane Daily Novak met Clark Mixon Emery as one of his students. “He made you hungry to find out more,” she states. The two of them were married in St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Palo Alto, CA. Jane also says she adopted some of Clark’s teaching techniques in her own career as an English professor.

The two of them live happily retired at Pacific Gardens in Santa Clara. Clark still writes poetry, as he did in his younger days, and reads poems to Jane nightly.

I asked Clark what he thinks of the world today. “I like it. It is interesting and has variety.”

This positive learned person was surprised by a celebration on July 11, attended by his friends and relatives from all over the country. And he deserves it.