Michael S. Glaser

Michael S. Glaser, who served as Poet Laureate of Maryland from 2004-2009 and as a professor of English and Creative Writing at St. Mary’s College of Maryland for nearly 40 years, died in his sleep, unexpectedly and peacefully, the morning of January 24 at his home in Hillsborough, NC. He was 81. Through his writing and his teaching, Michael strove towards greater beauty, deeper dignity, and more abounding grace, within himself, his family, and the world around him.

Outside of his family, Michael’s greatest love was poetry. His pen and notepad were never far, awaiting his next scribbled inspiration. As he wrote, “Wanting more than hope, I turn to poetry for revelation, instruction for my spirit, courage for my reawakening soul….” His poems have been published in numerous literary journals and newspapers. He edited three anthologies and published eight collections of his own, most recently, The Threshold of Light , which won the 2017 Bright Hills Press Chapbook Award and Elemental Things in 2022. While at St. Mary’s, he co-founded and directed the annual Literary Festival as well as the VOICES literary reading series.  A recipient of the Homer Dodge Endowed Award for Excellence in Teaching, Michael also received the Columbia Merit Award and Loyola College’s Andrew White Medal for his dedication to the intellectual and scholarly life, and for his commitment to sustaining the poetic tradition in the State of Maryland. He was widely sought as a speaker and workshop leader, and served as a Maryland State Arts Council poet-in-the-schools for over 25 years. He was active with the Maryland Humanities Council’s Speakers Bureau, and served on the Council’s Board of Directors from 2011-2017. Michael served on the Maryland State Department of Education’s Arts Advisory Committee, wrote poetry reviews for The Friends Journal, and led retreats that embraced the reading and writing of poetry as a  means of self-reflection, personal growth, and meaningful engagement in the world.

To his family, students and friends, he was Dad, Pop-O, Michael. He was particular, generous, and often whimsical in his care for those he met. To waitstaff at restaurants, he would ask not, “What’s good,” but, “What’s your favorite thing here?” or “What shouldn’t I miss?” To those at stoplights holding signs expressing hardship, he would give a snack-pack wrapped in a $5 bill held on by a rubber band. As a teacher and mentor, he was passionate about helping students find their own unique voice and to take pride in it. He loved to cook, and meals shared around his table were a welcome source of camaraderie and conversation for those who gathered.  He loved especially to host the numerous poets and artists who came to visit St. Mary’s—and who came back because of the welcome they found there. He has left a legacy of a love of poetry and writing, of upholding the value of the arts, of fighting for what you believe in, and failing all else, learning to live with radical ambiguity, curiosity, and awe. And he gave the best hugs.

Michael is survived by his beloved wife, the educator Kathleen W. Glaser; five children, Brian, Joshua, Daniel, Amira and Eva; and twelve grandchildren. He will be deeply missed.

Poetry Wanting more than hope I turn to poetry for revelation,

instruction for my spirit, courage for my reawakening soul, call it what you will— truth or rapture or love’s embrace, call it what it is— the consistently unexpected surprise of Beauty’s human face.

. . . . .Michael S. Glaser first published as cover of Friends Journal, August, 1996