I am so sad that Dr. Alice Slotsky (my wise friend, stellar Akkadian professor at Brown University, and goddess mentor) is gone.
Her zest for life was unmatched, her fashion sense divine, & her Pollyanna positivity inspiring.
I loved her dearly, and I am so grateful for her support all these decades.
She really was a fairy godmother — can’t even believe she was real!
Even in her final days, Alice was still buying stylish new dresses — she kept up her positivity til the end & the way she lived her life, with such pizzazz & zest (as if every day was her last), was as much a lesson to us, her fan club, as her riveting Akkadian classes at Brown.
Alice was a phenomenal professor & scholar. Her Intro to Akkadian
class had over 100 students–the largest in the world. She taught more
students than any Assyriologist ever. Her love of teaching & pedagogy
of fun continue to inspire me in the classroom. She will be missed by
many.
We took the group photo (of my Akkadian classmates and me) with Alice at her annual Babylonian feast for hundreds which she cooked from ancient Babylonian recipes preserved on cuneiform tablets at Yale to
give us an authentic taste of Mesopotamian cuisine (her cooking segment on BBC is sadly off Youtube now).
In her office, she kept a Sports Illustrated clipping of an
interview with a former football student who took her Akkadian class.
“What was your favorite class at Brown?” the Sports Illustrated
writer asked him. “Babylonian, hands down,” he replied. LOL —
Brown didn’t offer Babylonian, only Akkadian. Even though that
kid had no idea what course he took, it was his favorite because
of Alice…
Alice first saw Anubis when he was just a few weeks old (she used to smoke on the front stairs of our Egyptology Dept and always saw him coming and going) & she loved having him in our Akkadian class each week at Brown. It was so fun to fly with him & her thru the streets of Providence when we returned to USA after many years abroad to be at Yale. Now they’re both gone…
Whenever my mom would come to one of my graduations at Brown,
we’d take Alice out to dinner (yes that’s CAV in Providence
in the photo). I treasured her academic brilliance & joie de vivre —
I learned so much from her on how to have fun & LIVE.
Whenever I’d fly back to USA from Beirut or Oman, Alice would insist
on throwing me a mad tea-party in her Providence loft–w. quotes from
Alice in Wonderland on the plates & walls. Her zany playfulness &
sweet generosity made me feel so seen & supported. Devastated she’s
gone…
When I came home to the US for a visit after living abroad in Beirut,
Alice threw me a party in her downtown Providence loft &
had me invite all my mentors & friends. A meeting of many worlds —
she was such a generous & supportive friend.
After I returned to USA from years in Beirut & Oman to be a Yale Law School fellow, globe-trotting Anubis & I took the train to see Alice in RI — a very happy reunion for us all (see: Abu sleeping on her pillow and with us at lunch)! So glad we got to spend time together before I moved to China & COVID-19 changed life as we knew it.
Alice & I are birthday sisters & it was her birthday tradition to go to McDonald’s for takeout & get a Big Mac & fries lol — she was such a character. On our birthday last year, though, she said: “Abandoned McDonalds & am now a Wendy’s girl!” Will miss her on our bday this year…might have a Wendy’s burger in her honor.
Let this be a lesson to you: Alice, my exceptional Akkadian professor
at Brown, didn’t get her PhD from Yale until she was in her 50’s I believe.
After she retired from teaching at Brown, she went straight to get her
bartending license lol (she didn’t even drink!).
Oh, and Alice rode her VESPA to her bartending classes lol — she was
probably in her 70s at that time!
It’s never too late to go after your
dreams!
Her passing is a tremendous loss not just to Assyriology, her colleagues, and
students — but the world…a free spirit who empowered us to free
ourselves from self-preoccupied worry and have FUN!!!
Be like Alice — follow your dreams, live every day like it might be your last, be generous and kind, and most importantly, make every moment ZANY & FUN!!!
