William Granara, Professor of the Practice of Arabic on the Gordon Gray Endowment, Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Director of the Modern Languages Program in his own Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and a member of the Department of Comparative Literature, retired June 30, 2022, after twenty-nine years serving Harvard University in a variety of capacities. His colleagues in Islamic studies who are spread throughout many departments and faculties at Harvard, the staff with whom he has worked at CMES for nine years, and the many undergraduate and graduate students who have benefited from his instruction in Arabic language and literature over the years will miss his learning and exuberance.
Many years ago I called a friend who had outstanding skills as an Arabist and literary critic to ask who would be the best choice to appoint as a teacher of Arabic at Harvard. She immediately said, “Bill Granara is the best!” He was trained by fine Jesuit schools and by the inimitable George Makdisi. He had spent many years in Cairo and Tunis, working for the American University of Cairo and later for the State Department and supervising programs to intensify the Arabic of English speakers. Now, many decades later, I can testify that Bill Granara truly is the best.
We, his friends and colleagues in Islamic studies, quickly found out that Bill was an outstanding teacher not only of Arabic but also of Arabic literature. Then we learned he was also a discerning specialist of Arabic novels, several of which he translated into English. He was also well-acquainted with the masters of classic Arabic literature and taught seminars on figures like the tenth-century poet Mutanabbi. Soon it also became clear that he was well-organized and sound in his judgments and therefore became an outstanding Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. A very generous Tunisian alumnus became interested in extending Harvard’s outreach to Tunisia. In Bill this donor found the right person to guide and foster Harvard’s outreach to Tunisia resulting in the first CMES field office in the region, which has welcomed students and scholars since its opening in 2016. The exceptional success of these programs owes a great deal to Professor Granara. His two books on Arabic literature, one on medieval Sicily and one on the late eleventh-century Arab Sicilian poet Ibn Hamdis, have been handsome successes. Long may he and his good works flourish!
—Roy P. Mottahedeh, Gurney Professor of History Emeritus