UNCW professor Philip Gerard dies

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — UNCW has announced the death of Philip Gerard, a Professor of Creative Writing.

Gerard died Monday, and was a prolific author and one of the department’s founders and leaders.
 
“Philip arrived at UNCW in 1989 and quickly turned a fledgling professional and creative writing curriculum into a well-organized, well-administered and very popular concentration within the English major,” department chair Mark Cox said. “As the track grew and other creative writing faculty were hired, he subsequently was the chief force behind the planning, establishment and coordination of our MFA program in 1996.”
 
Gerard published 16 books of fiction and creative nonfiction, including The Patron Saint of Dreams, Down the Wild Cape Fear, and the legendary historical novel, Cape Fear Rising, about the 1898 coup and massacre that took place in Wilmington. Two of his books are seminal textbooks used in universities across the nation.
 
“He published more than 200 stories and essays in distinguished venues, amassing a highly respected body of work that only a very driven and committed writer could manage,” Cox added. “But it is never just about the numbers. Philip’s work always took on ambitious topics – war, politics, racial injustice, history – contributing substantially to our literature both nationally and in North Carolina.”