Stephenson, Shelby, 1938-

Shelby Stephenson (1938- ), poet; professor of literature and creative writing at Campbell College (now University), Buies Creek, N.C., 1974-1978, and at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (formerly Pembroke State University) after 1978; and editor of "Pembroke Magazine" beginning in 1979.

Shelby Stephenson was born 14 June 1938, near Benson, N.C. The youngest of four children, he lived in a three-room shanty on the 62-acre family farm until 1951, when the family built a ranch house on the property. The Stephensons lived off the farm, where they hunted, fished, and raised livestock.

As a child, Stephenson learned to play the guitar and to appreciate and write poetry. He was graduated from Cleveland High School in 1956 and was named the most outstanding student of his class. The following fall, Stephenson began working his way through the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he cleaned tables in the dining hall. While in college, Stephenson also worked at as janitor and disc jockey at WMPM radio in Smithfield. After graduation from UNC in 1960, Stephenson worked at WTVD-TV in Durham, N.C. At the same time, Stephenson began studying at the UNC Law School, but quit after two and a half years, leaving one semester short of graduation.

Stephenson then worked for American Telephone & Telegraph for a year and a half. In April 1965, he entered graduate school in English at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1966, he married Linda Letchworth Wilson, and, in 1968, he was admitted to the doctoral program in English at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Stephenson received his Ph.D. in May 1974 with a dissertation on law in the novels of William Faulkner. In 1974, Stephenson became chairman of the English Department at Campbell College in Buies Creek, N.C. In 1978, he left for a position at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (formerly Pembroke State University), Pembroke, N.C., where he has edited Pembroke Magazine since 1979.

Stephenson began to publish his own poetry in spring 1973, gaining a reputation as one of the finest poets of eastern North Carolina. His first book, Middle Creek Poems (1979) was the co-winner of the Zoe Kincaid Brockman Memorial Award. Other books include Carolina Shout! (1985); Finch's Mash (1990); The Persimmon Tree Carol (1990); Plankhouse (1993), a poetic documentary with photographs by Roger Manley; and Poor People (1998). He and his wife have also recorded a CD called Tribute to Hank Williams .

Stephenson lived in Southern Pines, N.C., from August 1978 to March 1996, when he moved to his birthplace near Benson.