The acclaimed poet Stanley Plumly passed away in April of this year, succumbing to cancer at the age of 79. Mr. Plumly was a distinguished professor of English at the University of Maryland. He was the author of 11 volumes of poetry; many of his poems were also published in the New Yorker, The Paris Review, The Atlantic Monthly, and in 40 anthologies. He was a finalist for the National Book Award, he was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award, and he won the prestigious Pushcart Prize for Poetry eight times.
Today on Midday, a tribute to Maryland’s former Poet Laureate (2009-2018) from three other poets who are also acclaimed in their own right and published widely. Grace Cavalieri is Mr. Plumly's successor as the current Poet Laureate of Maryland. She has also been host for four decades of the "The Poet and the Poem" radio series, distributed nationally on the Pacifica Radio Network, and now available as podcasts from the Library of Congress. Michael Collier also served as Maryland Poet Laureate from 2001-2004. He leads the Creative Writing program at the University of Maryland, College Park, and served as director of the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conferences from 1994 to 2017. Elizabeth Spires is the author of seven collections of poetry and six children’s books. She is a Professor of English at Goucher College where she holds the Chair for Distinguished Achievement.
The University of Maryland in College Park will host a memorial service for Stanley Plumly at Memorial Chapel, on Saturday, September 21, at 7:30pm. Click here for details.
