In memoriam: Paul D. Sheats, 92, UCLA English professor
Paul D. Sheats, longtime professor of English at UCLA, died in Los Angeles on August 23, 2024, at the age of 92. He came to the Department of English in 1966, after receiving his Ph.D. from Harvard University, having previously been a Rhodes scholar in Oxford. At the time of his arrival, his father, Paul H. Sheats, was Dean of University Extension at UCLA. Paul D. specialized in English Romantic poetry, particularly the works of Keats and Wordsworth, and he published fresh editions of their poems. His major scholarly contribution was his book from Harvard University Press on Wordsworth’s early work, The Making of Wordsworth’s Poetry, 1785-1798. He was also much invested in that poet’s great posthumous poem, The Prelude, especially its environmental concerns.
He was a great outdoorsman himself, and much dedicated to studying the life and achievements of John Muir. Paul served as Chair of the English Department from 1978 to 1983, and, after his retirement, he was President of the UCLA Emeriti Association. He was married to Barbara Packer, also a Professor in the English Department, and after her death in 2010 he established the annual lecture series in her honor. Those wishing to honor Paul’s service and memory may make donations to the Barbara L. Packer Lectures endowment.