ORONO – Burton Norval Hatlen died Monday, Jan. 21, 2008, surrounded by his family, in Bangor. He was born April 9, 1936, in Santa Barbara, Calif., the son of Julius and Lillian Hatlen. He started as the son of a farm laborer in California, and always attributed his success in life to a strong and well-funded system of public education. Burton received a Bachelor of Arts with honors in English from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1958; Master of Arts in English, Columbia University, 1959; Master of Arts in English, Harvard University, 1961; and a doctorate in English, The University of California, Davis, 1973. Burton was a professor of English at the University of Maine and came to the University of Maine in 1967, after college teaching in Tennessee and Ohio. He served as chair of the English department, 1985-88; the interim dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, 1997-98; Fulbright Senior Lecturer in American Studies and American Literature, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway, 1988-89. Burton also served as director of the National Poetry Foundation for more than 15 years. He is survived by his wife, Virginia Nees Hatlen; daughters, Julia Hatlen and her fiance, Mark Hayes, of Lowell, Mass., Inger Hatlen Daniels and husband, Joseph, of Philadelphia, and their daughter, Solveig; stepdaughter, Hedda Steinhoff; brother, Phillip Hatlen of Seattle; first wife and mother of Julia and Inger, Barbara Karlson of Lowell, Mass.; brother and sister-in-law, Lawrence P. and Vicky Nees of Moylan, Pa., and Burnham. He was predeceased by his parents; and eldest brother, Sheldon Hatlen. Burton leaves many relatives and friends in Maine, and around the world. A celebration of life will be held in the spring at the University of Maine campus and will be announced at a later date. Those who wish to remember Burton in a special way may make gifts in his memory to The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Scholarship Fund, payable to the University of Maine Foundation, 2 Alumni Place, Orono, ME 04469-5762. A service of Brookings-Smith, 133 Center St., Bangor.
BURTON NORVAL HATLEN
