Guy Carleton Drewry (May 21, 1901 - August 3, 1991) was an American writer and poet. He served a life appointment as the

Poet Laureate of Virginia The position of Poet Laureate of Virginia was established December 18, 1936 by the Virginia General Assembly. Originally, the Poet Laureate of Virginia was appointed without outside consultation by the General Assembly, usually for one year, in a ...

from 1970 to 1991. His novels include ''The Writhen Wood'', ''Cloud Above Clocktime'', and ''To Love that Well''.

Biography

Guy Carleton Drewry was born in

Stevensburg, Virginia Stevensburg is a small rural unincorporated community located at the intersection of Route 3 and Route 663 in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. Stevensburg is about 6.9 miles east of Culpeper. Stevensburg's ZIP code is 22741. The pos ...

on May 21, 1901. He was the son of a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

circuit minister, causing him to spend much of his childhood moving around. He had no formal education due to this, learning to read from his sister and practicing poetry through hymnals. Drewry first began writing on his own at the age of 18, not publishing any work until later in his career. In 1922, Drewry began working as a railroad statistician for

Norfolk & Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

through a friend's recommendation. He later admitted he did not like this position, but it paid the bills so he could continue writing. It was around this time he began frequenting the Roanoke Public Library, which gave him his first consistent source of books. In 1923, Drewry sold his first work to a magazine called ''

The Dial ''The Dial'' was an American magazine published intermittently from 1840 to 1929. In its first form, from 1840 to 1844, it served as the chief publication of the Transcendentalists. From the 1880s to 1919 it was revived as a political review and ...

''. In addition, he served as the associate editor of '' The Lyric'' from 1929 to 1939. Drewry continued writing for various magazines, including ''

Virginia Quarterly Review The ''Virginia Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly literary magazine that was established in 1925 by James Southall Wilson, at the request of University of Virginia president E. A. Alderman. This ''"National Journal of Literature and Discussion"'' ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', and ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

''. Drewry's first novel ''Proud Horns'' was published in 1933. This was followed by ''Sounding Summer'' in 1948, ''Time of Turning'' in 1951, ''The Writhen Wood'' in 1953, and ''Cloud Above Clocktime'' in 1957. Drewry was married on April 2, 1942 to Margaret Elizabeth McDonald. The two had two children, a daughter, Barbara Louise Anderson, and a son, Guy Carleton ″David″ Drewry Jr. In 1966, he retired from his statistician position, devoting his time to poetry. He then served as President of the Virginia Poet Society as well as a Regional Vice President of the

Poetry Society of America The Poetry Society of America is a literary organization founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the society have included such renowned poets as Witter Bynner, Ro ...

. In 1970, the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

named Drewry Virginia's Poet Laureate for life. Drewry published his final work ''To Love That Well'' in 1975, which was a compilation of poems in past novels and publications. Drewry passed away due to pneumonia and congestive heart failure on August 3, 1991Virginia Department of Health; Richmond, Virginia; Virginia Deaths, 1912-2014

Works

Drewry's themes are usually existentialist, focusing on the passage of time, death, and the natural world. His poems rely heavily on the usage of imagery to deliver his messages. Drewry often takes a position of authority in his poems, attempting to explain to the reader how the world operates.

Books

* ''Proud Horns'' (1933) * ''Sounding Summer'' (1948) * ''Time of Turning'' (1951) * ''The Writhen Wood'' (1953) * ''Cloud Above Clocktime'' (1957) * ''To Love That Well'' (1975)

Awards

* 1953 Poetry Awards Foundation Prize for "Best Volume of Poems in English" for ''A Time for Turning'' * Keats Memorial Lyric Prize

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drewry, Guy Carleton 1901 births 1991 deaths American male poets 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American poets Deaths from congestive heart failure Deaths from pneumonia in Virginia