Harvard, like an understanding professor giving a student a paper deadline extension, has arranged for Leonard Bernstein '39, Norton Professor of Poetry, to deliver his lecture series six months late.

Though he will give his lectures on six Tuesday evenings beginning October 9, Bernstein will return as planned to Eliot House April 8 for six weeks to repeat his Fall routine of "rapping" with students and going to classes. He would say only that technical reasons caused the postponement.

Bernstein will also write the six lectures, for which he prepared video tapes last Fall, while he is in residence this Spring.

Under normal circumstances, the extension of Bernstein's residence period into the next academic year would overlap with his successor's tenure. But the Committee on the Charles E. Norton Professor of Poetry was not planning to appoint anyone to the chair next year anyway for financial reasons, according to Harry Levin '33, chairman of the Committee.

Levin said that the endowment for the chair will "lie fallow" next year accruing interest. Bernstein will not receive extra salary, Levin added.

Bernstein said when the postponement was announced that he welcomes the extra six weeks in residence next Fall as an opportunity to "atone for spending half his time here last Fall with the Boston Symphony Orchestra."