THE LEGACY: A MEMOIR OF DR. CHARLES TISDALE

by

Colleen P. Monaghan (UNCG Student)

Published in Coraddi, the UNCG Arts Magazine (Spring 2005)

Born in Orangeburg, SC in 1942, Charles Pressley Roberts Tisdale is the son of an Episcopal minister and an expansive-minded educated mother. He credits his father, a Platonist and a Romantic idealist, and his mother, a woman fascinated with detail, to his life as a creative artist. Their influences at an early age propelled him to be a very dedicated student throughout all of his schooling.

Professor Tisdale was the president of his Orangeburg High School class for four years, continuing his education to earn a B. A. in English at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. There he met three men that were of great importance to his future as an educator and poet: Charles Harrison, a Shakespearian professor who taught Tisdale the basis of literary criticism and Shakespeare; Scott Bates, a French professor from whom Tisdale took seven courses and who opened his mind to existentialism and how to portray that in his poetry and art; and Monroe Spears, an 18^th century and modern poetry scholar, a man whom Tisdale idolized as an intellectual.

After Professor Tisdale graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of the South, Spears assisted him in his acceptance into graduate school at Princeton University. Upon his entry in 1964, he received a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. In 1966, Charles Tisdale received an M. A. in English and in 1967 he began his career as an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, all the while finishing his dissertation and receiving a Ph. D. from Princeton University in 1969.

Charles Tisdale is a part of the UNCG community because of its longstanding tradition in valuing the arts and its emphasis on the arts. He also believes at a public University the immense diversity of the students accelerates the education both given and received. That being said, Professor Tisdale describes many of the students at UNCG, both undergraduate and graduate, as being equal to the top in the country. He continuously praises the Master of Fine Arts Creative Writing Program for having amazing individuals whose intellect and talent should be rewarded. He has strong appreciation for those involved with the program for the congeniality they have shown him over the years. Those individuals, along with undergraduates, fellow professors, administrators, and other employees, created an environment that allowed Tisdale to expand his creative desires. Being a part of the UNCG community has been more of a quest for him than an adventure, and being surrounded by others who are passionate about their education has made his quest ongoing and immensely satisfying.

During Professor Tisdale’s 38 years as an educator, he has been extremely involved with the University. Throughout his career he taught approximately 6,450 students, 225 classes, and read roughly 25, 800 student papers. One of his greatest contributions has been in enriching the community. Professor Tisdale has been a strong supporter of student-run organizations such as Coraddi. He holds a high respect for the publication because he believes it is a direct representation of the superior talent of UNCG students. In the past, Tisdale has served as the faculty advisor for the organization and has also contributed to the tradition of superiority that Coraddi holds by serving as an inspiration of excellence to students who submit their work, and the magazine’s staff members. Tisdale has also been active at the University, serving on the Faculty Senate from 1991-1997 and as the Dean of Academic Advising. He also was a member on other numerous committees and boards, including University committees, departmental committees, and the Residential College.

A highlight in his career came in the early 1990’s when, as a member of the Faculty Senate, he sponsored a resolution to call the administration at the time to account for morale and program issues. He did not believe that they were supportive of UNCG and its development. Ultimately, this resulted in the establishment of a new administration, namely Chancellor Sullivan, whom Tisdale credits as being a main reason why the morale and quality of students and faculty attending the University has risen. As a faculty member, Professor Tisdale has made a difference in the students and the academic and social life at UNCG.

Professor Tisdale is admired by those who have had the honor of having him as a teacher. His powerful lectures and passionate thoughts on literature open the minds of young learners to a world unknown by many. Walking into his classroom, one may feel as though they have entered a universe of immense capacity and endless possibilities. There is never a moment unfilled with emotion or scholarly awe. Often it seems as though a widely acclaimed, past century poet has come to life to enrich your mind and bring your literary understanding to new heights. When reading poetry, the passion pours straight from his soul and students can feel the importance and the immense strength it carries, not only in literature, but also in the personal endeavors one encounters. In one meeting, he alone can alter the way an individual thinks and views the world at large. He has said that he loves to teach the big picture, conceptualism, developmental thinking, and presenting how a text can discover the meaning of life. A beloved saying of his by William Shakespeare reads, “A poet’s pen . . . ‘gives to airy nothings a local habitation and a name.’” Coincidentally, this is what Professor Tisdale has taught his students. This is not something he will tell you directly, but merely an idea presented through his zealous language and his expression of personal thoughts. Professor Tisdale expressed that he would like his students to walk away with “the continuing ability to see and use literature as a means of personal enrichment as they travel and create the journeys of their lives.” On being an educator, Charles Tisdale has said that UNCG allowed him to have a more than satisfying experience. “When I walk through the doorway,” he recalls, “I enter into a space where I really feel at home with a world of language and words, which are special and precious and beautiful. Knowing I can share that with others has immensely fulfilled me as a teacher.”

Although he is not entirely content when looking back on the entirety of his life, for he still carries the same dreams as those he had in 1967, this is what makes him a man to admire. When he retires, his desire is to continue his creative journey and hopes to be in an environment that will allow him to embark on a new expedition, bringing the same gratification and happiness that the University has. He compares his retirement metaphorically to how Christopher Columbus must have felt looking out upon the vastness of the ocean before he set sail. There is an entire world he desires still to experience and his ideas are larger than ever. At this time in his life, a saying from his father resounds. “Charles,” Tisdale recalls, “we can deal with the yes and no. It is the uncertainty that kills us.” His only wish is to be just as productive as he has been in the past 38 years.

Throughout his lifetime Charles Tisdale has published over 40 poems. He received an honorable mention award in the Nimrod Pablo Neruda International Poetry Contest, a highly respected literary journal, for a set of three poems entitled “Lepidoptera, or a Field Guide to Three Southeastern Butterflies.” To many poets this would be a crowning success, but to a man with the persistence and creativity of Charles Tisdale, there is always more to be achieved. In pursuit of his personal dream of becoming a famous writer, he will work on marketing his writing more effectively, including the revision of autobiographical essays. The rest of his time will be spent with his wife, Laurie, raising their two children, Truman and India, who are extremely fortunate to have a father that will teach them the true beauty and wonder of the world.