It is with a heavy heart that we share that Professor Mari Ruti, a year shy of turning 60, has died after a long battle with cancer. Mari was Distinguished Professor of Critical Theory and Psychoanalysis at the University of Toronto. Born in Finland and raised in a home without running water, Mari came to the United States as an exchange student in high school, returned for her B.A. at Brown University, later studied with Julia Kristeva at the University of Paris 7, and completed her doctorate at Harvard University. The author of 13 books, with others likely to be published posthumously, Mari was known for her lucid and compelling writings on Lacanian psychoanalysis, critical theory, and queer theory. Many of her books were also guides for living a creative and fulfilling life. Her most recent books include Critical Theory Between Klein and Lacan: A Dialogue (with Amy Allen, 2019), Penis Envy and Other Bad Feelings (2018), Distillations: Theory, Ethics, Affect (2018), and The Ethics of Opting Out: Queer Theory’s Defiant Subjects (2017). As much as she was known for her scholarship, she was also known for the depth of her friendships. Now, with her untimely passing, scores of her friends all over the world are grieving her loss. Linked here is a more detailed memorial, authored by some of her friends.
