Late yesterday we learned of the passing of poet, novelist, and teacher Robert Watson, long of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Watson came to what was then the Woman’s College of North Carolina in 1953, and stayed until his retirement in 1987. During that time he co-founded the renowned Greensboro Review, and helped to organize the school’s MFA program in creative writing; he also served as the program’s director. When not re-shaping the literary culture of North Carolina as a teacher and editor, he wrote six poetry collections, two novels, and two plays.
storySouth has an excellent “In Memoriam” tribute on its home page, while Kathryn Stripling Byer remembers Bob on her blog.