Clyde Edgerton Signs Off from UNCW

After a storied 25 years, Kenan Distinguished Professor in Creative Writing Clyde Edgerton has officially retired from UNCW. His retirement was honored at the UNCW Department of Creative Writing’s end of semester reception in April.  

Creative writing professor and chair Mark Cox said of his colleague: 

“One of the founding members of our department, he has achieved legendary status as a writer and teacher. Certainly, in all my nearly 40 years of teaching, I know of no colleague who cared more about their teaching than Clyde. As a writer, he has been a superb model for our students, not only because of his own practice, but also because of his important and timely activism within the larger Wilmington community. Clyde, we will greatly miss having you in our hallways and classrooms.”

Author, educator, artist, musician and pilot, Edgerton has delighted readers and fans through readings and appearances in and outside the classroom.  

He was a featured speaker at UNCW's fall 2023 commencement ceremonies. He sang a song composed to the tune of Girl from Ipanema and played a blues-style medley on his harmonica at former UNCW Chancellor Jose Sartarelli’s installation ceremony in 2016.  

A native of Durham and graduate of the University of North Carolina, Edgerton has authored 10 novels and two nonfiction books. Three of his books were made into motion pictures. Raney, Walking Across Egypt, The Floatplane Notebooks, Killer Diller, Where Trouble Sleeps, Lunch at the Piccadilly and The Bible Salesman were adapted for stage. He earned a Distinguished Flying Cross for his service in the Vietnam War. Solo: My Adventures in the Air recounts his passion for flying. 

His short stories and essays have been published in Best American Short Stories, New York Times Magazine, Southern Review and Oxford American, among others. 

A past Guggenheim Fellow, he was inducted into the NC Literary Hall of Fame in 2016. Other honors include the Thomas Wolfe Prize, the North Carolina Award for Literature and the University of North Carolina Education Department Distinguished Alumni Award.  

In 2023, he was honored with the John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities for his life’s work.