She graduated from Shortwood College, passed the London & Cambridge Higher School examination and taught math and geography at Clarendon College in Chapelton. She emigrated to the United States, attended Howard University, Washington DC from 1954-1958 and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in Classics. She married James Baytop, a law student at Howard, and they set up residence in D.C. Crib death claimed an infant son and years later, the marriage ended in divorce.
Dr. Baytop won graduate fellowships to the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. After earning the PhD from U Mass in 1966 with a doctoral thesis translating and interpreting a Latin play “Dido”, she joined the faculty in Humanities at U Mass, Boston. In Boston on 2 successive years, her nephews Stephen and Peter Spence came from Jamaica and lived with her in Cambridge, MA.
In 1974, she co-authored the book Dido, queen of infinite literary variety: the English Renaissance borrowings and influences, which was published in 11 editions in 4 languages and is held by 176 libraries worldwide and an article, “James Baldwin and Roger Mais: the Pentecostal theme” in 1978. Overall, she had 5 works in 18 publications in 184 libraries around the world.
From the University of Massachusetts, she was recruited to Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ where she gained tenure, taught Mythology, Shakespeare, Milton, etc., served on committees and was promoted from Associate Professor in 1988. At Rutgers, she published a book, Black Aesthetics: The Black-Is_Beautiful Tradition and the Janus-Faced Image in 1999. She won a Fulbright Fellowship to the University of Sierra Leone where she was a guest lecturer from 1984-1985.
While living in Deltona, FL, she published poetry, was appointed on the Florida Humanities Council lecture circuit, adjunct professor at Stetson University, an active member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), VIP, NAACP (life member and Black Achiever), Commission on the Status of Women 1993-1996, Showstoppers (a tap dance group), St Barnabas Episcopal Church, Democratic Club, Deltona Lakes Poets and a member of St. Jude Episcopal Church. She was one of the founders of the African American Museum of the Arts in Deland, FL.
Dr. Baytop died in Deltona on June 20, 2019 after years of health challenges. She was preceded in death by her parents, Adrian and Jane Roberts, her ex-husband James Baytop, her sisters Olive Metz and Peggy McLeod; brothers Eugene “Ever” Roberts, Cecil “Chilly” Roberts and Keith “Lenny” Roberts; brothers-in-law Patrick Spence, Audley McLeod and Terrence Metz; nieces Pam Roberts and Sharon Roberts, nephews Patrick Roberts and Michael McLeod.
She is survived by her sister Carol “Joy” Spence; sisters-in-law Christine Roberts and Carmen Roberts; nieces Yvonne Small, Patricia Shields (Raymond), Marcia Grant, Michelle “Charmaine” Clunis (Steve), Karen Creecy, Caroline “Penny” Sterling (Peter) and Denise Roberts; nephews Kenneth Roberts, Ivanhoe “Chubby” Roberts (Claire), Wayne Metz, Boliver Roberts (Lavell), Stephen Spence (Donna), Paul “Skinner” Roberts (Andrea) and Peter Spence (Carolyn); a number of grandnieces, grandnephews, great-grandnieces and great-grandnephews, friends and colleagues. Her legacy continues in them all.
The family of Dr. Adrianne Baytop graciously acknowledges the many acts of loving kindness, prayers and comforting words shown to us during our bereavement. Your thoughtfulness is deeply appreciated and will always be remembered.
