Andrew Glaze, Alabama’s 95-Year-Old Poet Laureate, Has Died
According to his family, Andrew Glaze died on Sunday. The novelist, playwright and poet was currently serving as Poet Laureate of Alabama. Glaze has been called “an essential poet for more than sixty years.”
Glaze was born in Nashville, but grew up in Birmingham. Through his life, Glaze was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and praised by numerous literary magazines and personalities, like poet Robert Frost. In 2015, he was inducted into the Alabama Writers’ Hall of Fame and published his latest collection of poetry, “Overheard in a Drug Store.”
Glaze had a long and full career. He up in Birmingham before attending Harvard University and serving in the air force during World War II. Glaze came back to Birmingham where he wrote for the Birmingham Post-Herald during the early days of the Civil Rights Movement before moving to New York City. Those years as a reporter inspired his epic poem I am the Jefferson County Courthouse. Here’s Glaze reading from it shortly after it’s publication in 1981.
Andy Glaze spent more than 30 years living in New York City.
“He travelled in a close knit circle of poets that included writer Norman Rosten, Oscar Williams, William Packard, and John Ciardi,” said his daughter, Elizabeth Glaze.
He returned to Alabama in 2002. Glaze always said his life growing up in the South was always an important part of his work.
Glaze’s four-year term as Poet Laureate of Alabama was set to end in 2017. Talking to WBHM in August of 2015, Glaze said he still loved poetry, and was sometimes surprised by the feelings hearing his old poems stirred.
Listen to WBHM’s August 2015 profile of Andrew Glaze:
Pakistan claims to have killed at least 70 militants in strikes along Afghan border
Pakistan's military killed at least 70 militants in strikes along the border with Afghanistan early Sunday, the deputy interior minister said.
Team USA faces tough Canadian squad in Olympic gold medal hockey game
In the first Olympics with stars of the NHL competing in over a decade, a talent-packed Team USA faces a tough test against Canada.
PHOTOS: Your car has a lot to say about who you are
Photographer Martin Roemer visited 22 countries — from the U.S. to Senegal to India — to show how our identities are connected to our mode of transportation.
Looking for life purpose? Start with building social ties
Research shows that having a sense of purpose can lower stress levels and boost our mental health. Finding meaning may not have to be an ambitious project.
Sunday Puzzle: TransformeR
NPR's Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with listener Joan Suits and Weekend Edition Puzzlemaster Will Shortz.
Danish military evacuates US submariner who needed urgent medical care off Greenland
Denmark's military says its arctic command forces evacuated a crew member of a U.S. submarine off the coast of Greenland for urgent medical treatment.
