On August 7, poet, fiction writer, editor, and teacher Robley Wilson passed away. A former board member for the Association of Writers & Writing Programs, Wilson was the author of three poetry collections, including Kingdoms of the Ordinary, which won the 1986 Agnes Lynch Starrett poetry prize and was published by the University of Pittsburg Press. His most recent poetry collection, Everything Paid For, was published by the University Press of Florida in 1999.

In addition to poetry, Wilson was the author of many novels and short story collections including After Paradise (Black Lawrence Press, 2017), The World Still Melting (St. Martin’s Press, 2005), and Who Will Hear Your Secrets (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012). He was also the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in Fiction.

Wilson taught creative writing at the University of Northern Iowa from 1963 to 1996, where he was also the editor of the literary magazine North American Review. Throughout his teaching career, he also taught at the University of Iowa, Beloit College, Northwestern University, and Pitzer College.

He is survived by his wife, fiction writer Susan Hubbard, who was also an AWP board member  from 2000 to 2004 and the president of the board during her final year of service. He is also survived by two sons, Stephen and Philip, two stepdaughters, Kate and Clare, and two grandchildren, Sam and Kate. At the time of his death, Wilson was living in Florida, dividing his time between Orlando and Cape Canaveral. A memorial service is planned for late September in Maine.

Image Credit: The Center for Fiction