SCHREIBER, Ron 1934-2004

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born January 25, 1934, in Chicago, IL; died of pancreatic cancer, August 22, 2004, in Cambridge, MA. Educator, editor, and author. A former professor at the University of Massachusetts—Boston, Schreiber was a poet, advocate of gay literature, and founder of the literary periodicals Things and Hanging Loose. After receiving his B.A. from Wesleyan University in 1955, he served in the U.S. Army for two years, returning to his studies at Columbia, where he earned an M.A. in 1959 and a Ph.D. in 1967. His work with small press publications started with Things, a journal he cofounded and published from 1963 to 1966. Next, after Things went out of business, he began the magazine Hanging Loose, which eventually morphed into a full-fledge publishing house of the same name. While editing Hanging Loose, Schreiber joined the University of Massachusetts—Boston faculty as an assistant professor, eventually rising to the post of full professor, chairing the English department, and retiring as professor emeritus. During the 1970s, he also worked as an editor for the cooperative publishing firm Alice James Books. A tireless advocate for the poems of gay and lesbian authors, Schreiber, who was himself a homosexual, became known for developing innovative classes for the study of gay and lesbian literature. He was the editor of Thirty-one New American Poets (1968) and published several poetry collections, including Living Space (1972), False Clues (1978), and John (1989).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

ONLINE

Boston.com,http://www.boston.com/ (August 31, 2004).

Creative Writing Newsletter, http://www.english.umb.edu/CreativeWritingNewsletter.htm/ (fall, 2004).

Somerville Journal, http://www2.townonline.com/somverville/ (September 9, 2004).