James J. Mertz, S.J.

Biography: James J. Mertz, SJ (1882-1979) served as professor, then professor emeritus of classics at Loyola University of Chicago in a career spanning nearly six decades. As versatile as the Jesuit poets whose work he studied and collected, Mertz taught philosophy, geography, natural science, Latin and German. Mertz initiated Loyola University's excellent collection of Jesuit poetry in 1922 when he arrived there literally atop a truckload of books. Mertz coauthored with John P. Murphy, SJ and Jozef IJsewijn Jesuit Latin Poets of the 17th and 18th Centuries (Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 1989).