William M. Chace

William M. Chace is honorary professor of English emeritus at Stanford University and president emeritus of Emory University.

The books we keep on our shelves represent the best of language, of knowledge, and perhaps even of ourselves.

By William M. Chace

April 22, 2026

To think of the late physician Oliver Sacks is to think of the people he wrote about, who made the world a bit larger and much more interesting.

By William M. Chace

August 7, 2025

The letters of Seamus Heaney reveal what his poems embody: a reverence for fathers and the spiritual guides who came before him.

By William M. Chace

November 15, 2024