Former Poet Laureat of Alabama Dies November 11, 2003
Helen Friedman Blackshear, 1995-1999
Helen Friedman Blackshear assumed her position as Poet Laureate of Alabama on January
1, 1995. She was commissioned by the governor on September 27, 1995.
Mrs. Blackshear, widow of William Mitchell Blackshear, was born June 5, 1911, and is a
native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She graduated from Agnes Scott College in 1931 and
received an M.A. from the University of Alabama in 1931. Her thesis, Robert Loveman:
Belated Romanticist was published in hardback by the University of Alabama Press and is
in the Alabama Collection Library. She served as president of the Alabama Writers'
Conclave in 1986; Poet of the Year, corresponding secretary and second vice president for
the Alabama State Poetry Society; and a member of the National Federation of State Poetry
Societies. She is also a member of Creative Writers of Montgomery, Press and Authors
Club, secretary of the Montgomery Arts Council for 6 years, and in 1990, served as
president of the Montgomery branch of the National League of American Penwomen, Inc.
Mrs. Blackshear makes her home in Montgomery where she taught high school English for
35 years. She is listed in Contemporary Authors and Don Marquis' Who's Who: St. James
Register Personalities of the South. Her publications include: Mother Was a Rebel
(non-fiction); Southern Smorgasbord, a collection of essays; and The Creek Captives and
Other Alabama Stories, published in 1975, enlarged and republished in 1990 by Black Belt
Press and will soon have a third edition. She has published 5 books of poems, the most
recent being And Time Remembered, Selections and Earthbound; articles in The Georgia
Review; and poems in "little" magazines including Negative, Capability and The Lyric. In
1993 she published a book about 3 generations of her father's family entitled From Peddler
to Philanthropist: The Friedman Story.
Helen Blackshear died in Tuscaloosa on November 11, 2003.
Helen Friedman Blackshear, 1995-1999
Helen Friedman Blackshear assumed her position as Poet Laureate of Alabama on January
1, 1995. She was commissioned by the governor on September 27, 1995.
Mrs. Blackshear, widow of William Mitchell Blackshear, was born June 5, 1911, and is a
native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She graduated from Agnes Scott College in 1931 and
received an M.A. from the University of Alabama in 1931. Her thesis, Robert Loveman:
Belated Romanticist was published in hardback by the University of Alabama Press and is
in the Alabama Collection Library. She served as president of the Alabama Writers'
Conclave in 1986; Poet of the Year, corresponding secretary and second vice president for
the Alabama State Poetry Society; and a member of the National Federation of State Poetry
Societies. She is also a member of Creative Writers of Montgomery, Press and Authors
Club, secretary of the Montgomery Arts Council for 6 years, and in 1990, served as
president of the Montgomery branch of the National League of American Penwomen, Inc.
Mrs. Blackshear makes her home in Montgomery where she taught high school English for
35 years. She is listed in Contemporary Authors and Don Marquis' Who's Who: St. James
Register Personalities of the South. Her publications include: Mother Was a Rebel
(non-fiction); Southern Smorgasbord, a collection of essays; and The Creek Captives and
Other Alabama Stories, published in 1975, enlarged and republished in 1990 by Black Belt
Press and will soon have a third edition. She has published 5 books of poems, the most
recent being And Time Remembered, Selections and Earthbound; articles in The Georgia
Review; and poems in "little" magazines including Negative, Capability and The Lyric. In
1993 she published a book about 3 generations of her father's family entitled From Peddler
to Philanthropist: The Friedman Story.
Helen Blackshear died in Tuscaloosa on November 11, 2003.
Current Poet Laureate of Alabama
Sue Walker, 2002-2006
Sue Brannan Walker is known nationally and internationally for her poetry, as well as for her critical
articles on poets and writers such as James Dickey, Marge Piercy, Margaret Atwood, Carson
McCullers, et. al.. As Editor and Publisher of Negative Capability, she has published numerous
Alabama poets and writers, providing them a greater audience and some of them their first opportunity
to be published. She has continued this work since 1981—a distinguished effort recognized by Writer's
Digest when it ranked Negative Capability Third in the Nation in Poetry in the early 1990s out of
approximately 2700 markets. In addition, her outstanding efforts were recognized when she was
featured in Poet’s Market (1999).
Her poetry is of the highest quality and has been published in an impressive array of prestigious
publications including Aura, Black Willow, Blue Unicorn, Chattahoochee Review, Circus Maximus,
Connecticut Review, Doggerel, Elk River Review, James Dickey Newsletter, Jabberwocky, Kalliope,
Mobile Bay Monthly, The Alalitcom, The New York Quarterly, Piedmont Literary Review, Writer’s
Digest, and many, many others.
Her poetry, prose works, and community service have deservedly garnered numerous awards, grants,
and fellowships. She has published five volumes of poetry with a sixth due out this Fall. Her latest
collection is Blood Will Bear Your Name, which won Book of the Year from Alabama State Poetry
Society and which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. This book was reviewed in both First Draft and
Louisiana Literature.
She has long dedicated herself to poetry, literature, and the arts. As founder/editor of Negative
Capability she has served our community with distinction. Also, she has notably served as Advisory
Editor for both The James Dickey Newsletter and The Anthology of New England Writers. She has
maintained active memberships in numerous societies and associations (including honorary). Her
memberships number in the dozens and include but are certainly not limited to:
President, James Dickey Society 2002
Executive Committee, Modern Language Association, Disability Studies Section, 1998–2001
Academy of American Poets
National League of American Pen Women
National Women’s Studies Association
Poetry Society of America
Poets and Writers Association of America
The Society for the Study of Southern Literature
Equally noteworthy is her service to the University of South Alabama as Chair of the English
Department and her involvement on an array of committees. Her academic experience and her classes
in creative writing and literature are imposing. Among many subjects, she teaches Advanced Poetry
Writing at the graduate level. The range of her peer reviewed, solicited articles is extraordinary. Her
play, her fiction, her musical recording—all confirm her versatility in the arts and an outstanding level of
involvement and dedication.
The list of her readings, talks, addresses, papers given, lectures, and workshops speaks for itself (and is
more than three pages long and single-spaced!). She is exceedingly qualified in the area of speaking,
reading poems, and giving programs.
Her ability to write poems of a commemorative nature is undeniable. We who heard her read “What
Comes of Listening” at the Alabama State Poetry Society luncheon at Montevallo in April 2001
remember that poem (written especially for the occasion), and her fluid, dramatic reading, as truly
unforgettable. For the record, she also teaches a segment on “occasional verse” in her Advanced
Poetry class at the University of South Alabama.
Dr. Walker’s current works in progress include:
1. A study of Deep ecology in James Dickey’s work
2. A novel on the 1878 yellow fever epidemic in Mobile, Alabama
3. A biography of Jefferson Davis in sonnets
4. Work on Flannery O’Connor and Kate Chopin
Sue Brannan Walker is a distinguished poet and is uniquely qualified to fill the position of Poet Laureate
of Alabama.
Biographical information from The Alabama State Poetry Scoiety.
Sue Walker, 2002-2006
Sue Brannan Walker is known nationally and internationally for her poetry, as well as for her critical
articles on poets and writers such as James Dickey, Marge Piercy, Margaret Atwood, Carson
McCullers, et. al.. As Editor and Publisher of Negative Capability, she has published numerous
Alabama poets and writers, providing them a greater audience and some of them their first opportunity
to be published. She has continued this work since 1981—a distinguished effort recognized by Writer's
Digest when it ranked Negative Capability Third in the Nation in Poetry in the early 1990s out of
approximately 2700 markets. In addition, her outstanding efforts were recognized when she was
featured in Poet’s Market (1999).
Her poetry is of the highest quality and has been published in an impressive array of prestigious
publications including Aura, Black Willow, Blue Unicorn, Chattahoochee Review, Circus Maximus,
Connecticut Review, Doggerel, Elk River Review, James Dickey Newsletter, Jabberwocky, Kalliope,
Mobile Bay Monthly, The Alalitcom, The New York Quarterly, Piedmont Literary Review, Writer’s
Digest, and many, many others.
Her poetry, prose works, and community service have deservedly garnered numerous awards, grants,
and fellowships. She has published five volumes of poetry with a sixth due out this Fall. Her latest
collection is Blood Will Bear Your Name, which won Book of the Year from Alabama State Poetry
Society and which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. This book was reviewed in both First Draft and
Louisiana Literature.
She has long dedicated herself to poetry, literature, and the arts. As founder/editor of Negative
Capability she has served our community with distinction. Also, she has notably served as Advisory
Editor for both The James Dickey Newsletter and The Anthology of New England Writers. She has
maintained active memberships in numerous societies and associations (including honorary). Her
memberships number in the dozens and include but are certainly not limited to:
President, James Dickey Society 2002
Executive Committee, Modern Language Association, Disability Studies Section, 1998–2001
Academy of American Poets
National League of American Pen Women
National Women’s Studies Association
Poetry Society of America
Poets and Writers Association of America
The Society for the Study of Southern Literature
Equally noteworthy is her service to the University of South Alabama as Chair of the English
Department and her involvement on an array of committees. Her academic experience and her classes
in creative writing and literature are imposing. Among many subjects, she teaches Advanced Poetry
Writing at the graduate level. The range of her peer reviewed, solicited articles is extraordinary. Her
play, her fiction, her musical recording—all confirm her versatility in the arts and an outstanding level of
involvement and dedication.
The list of her readings, talks, addresses, papers given, lectures, and workshops speaks for itself (and is
more than three pages long and single-spaced!). She is exceedingly qualified in the area of speaking,
reading poems, and giving programs.
Her ability to write poems of a commemorative nature is undeniable. We who heard her read “What
Comes of Listening” at the Alabama State Poetry Society luncheon at Montevallo in April 2001
remember that poem (written especially for the occasion), and her fluid, dramatic reading, as truly
unforgettable. For the record, she also teaches a segment on “occasional verse” in her Advanced
Poetry class at the University of South Alabama.
Dr. Walker’s current works in progress include:
1. A study of Deep ecology in James Dickey’s work
2. A novel on the 1878 yellow fever epidemic in Mobile, Alabama
3. A biography of Jefferson Davis in sonnets
4. Work on Flannery O’Connor and Kate Chopin
Sue Brannan Walker is a distinguished poet and is uniquely qualified to fill the position of Poet Laureate
of Alabama.
Biographical information from The Alabama State Poetry Scoiety.
The above articles were taken from the Alabama Department
of Archives and History.
of Archives and History.
Aspiring Writers Magazine
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