James A. Winn, an English professor and accomplished flutist who served as the director of the Institute for the Humanities from its inception through 1996, died in his Brattleboro, Vt., home Thursday. He was 71.

Winn taught at Yale from 1974 until 1983, when he came to the University of Michigan.  His expertise was in English literature of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He was an author, editor, and contributor of 9 books, including the 1987 book John Dryden and His World, called “the most important biography of Dryden ever written.” by Pat Rogers in The New York Times Book Review.

Winn taught English at U-M until 1998, then joined the Boston University faculty. He retired in 2017. 

Tribute: James Winn, 1947–2019, Flutist and Preeminent BU Scholar of English Literature

James Winn, 71, Dryden Biographer and a Skilled Flutist, Dies

James A. Winn, who was a writer, BU English professor, and flutist, dies at 71