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| BIO NOTES |
Born into an Air Force family in California, Bill Glose spent his childhood on military bases overseas�Japan, then Okinawa, then England. In 1979, his father was stationed at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton Roads, and ever since Bill has called Virginia his home. Bill joined ROTC at Virginia Tech in hopes of becoming a fighter pilot like his father. His eyes weren't good enough, so he became a paratrooper in the 82d Airborne. If he couldn't fly planes, he figured he'd jump out of them instead. His father still can't understand why anyone would jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Graduating with a BS in Civil Engineering, Bill worked in that field for a scant four months, right up until his reporting date at Fort Benning. Afterwards, his only engineering came from digging foxholes. Bill spent time in Panama and the Middle East, where he served as a combat platoon leader in the Gulf War. In five years in the 82nd, he earned his Ranger Tab and Senior Jumpmaster Wings and fell out of an airplane 60 times. After the Army, Bill moved on to manufacturing. He was a line supervisor in a Chicago factory and then a plant manager in Massachusetts. But his heart wasn't into climbing the corporate ladder. In 1998, he walked away from a successful management position to dedicate his life to writing. Returning to Virginia, Bill earned his first bylines with online publications by writing articles about sports, movies, and local events. He wrote movie reviews for Hampton Roads Life and sports articles about the Hokies for TechSideLine. Although the webzines didn�t pay for his work, they provided experience, teaching Bill how to focus on readership and editorial preferences while meeting deadlines. Gradually, he became a regular contributor with regional publications and started earning a paycheck from freelance work. Bill took up photography to enhance his articles but soon found himself taking pictures for sheer pleasure. Many of his photos have appeared in print publications, but Bill is most proud of winning a juried prize at an art show. His framed artwork has also appeared in a one-man show at the Poquoson Library. In 1999, Bill launched the literary journal, Virginia Adversaria. He calls it the greatest learning experience of his writing career. Judging and analyzing other people's work provided tremendous insight when he turned that same critical eye toward his own writing. Bill's big break in the magazine world came with Virginia Living, where he served as a contributing editor from 2003-2020. He primarily wrote the Books page, interviewing a featured author for the anchor piece and writing four capsule reviews in each "Roundup." He also wrote dozens of feature stories for Virginia Living on a wide range of subjects, including Town stories, Art features, Education pieces, and profiles of athletes, celebrities, and ordinray people with extraordinary stories. Bill's magazine work includes more than 50 articles for Coastal Virginia Magazine and another 50-plus feature articles for Super Lawyers, of which more than a dozen were cover stories.
But he hasn't relied solely on others for his stories. In 2010-2011, Bill walked 1,500 miles through every region of Virginia and wrote about his experiences in essays for magazines and poems for literary journals. His odyssey was the basis for his poetry collection Virginia Walkabout. Since becoming a professional writer, Bill has published hundreds of short stories, articles, essays, and poems in numerous markets. Bill�s personal writing has appeared in scores of publications, including The Sun, The Writer, GRIT, The Missouri Review, Rattle, and Narrative Magazine. Literary honors include the F. Scott Fitzgerald Short Story Award, Daily Press Poet Laureate, the Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award, and the Virginia Press Association First Place Award for Sports News Writing. He has published five books and two chapbooks of poetry and edited one short story anthology (Bill's Books). Bill's themes often delve into matters of the human condition, the ills of society, and the aching need for connection. His military background influences much of his writing, as seen in the short story "Her Brother's Apartment" (winner of the 2018 Robert Bausch Fiction Award) and the poem "I.E.D." (winner of the Heroes' Voices Poetry Award). Commenting on Half a Man, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard Myers said, �Bill Glose�s poetry brings the last twelve years of war in the Middle East and Central Asia into sharp focus. � Everyone will learn from his work.� Recognizing how much he has benefited from the skill and wisdom of other writers, Bill shows his appreciation by giving back to the literary community. He has taught workshops and classes at colleges, conferences, VA hospitals, prisons, libraries, and pretty much anywhere curious people are willing to gather. An active member of the Poetry Society of Virginia, Bill has served as Poetry Festival Chairman, Vice President of the Eastern Region, and judge in the high school poetry contest for numerous years. He attends poetry events throughout the state and films the readings, posting over 1,000 of these videos on the YouTube Channel he manages, Virginia Poetry Online. He has also story-boarded, directed, and filmed "Poetry Movies" of various poets, such as "Objects on the Tray," by M.J. Kledzik and "Saturday is for Planting," by Terry Cox-Joseph. Currently, Bill is a technical writer for Newport News Shipbuilding, merging his military background, knowledge of engineering, and skills as a writer. When he is not at the Shipyard, writing for himself, or visiting a poetry venue, he�s probably watching a movie or cheering on the Hokies. | ||
| IN THE NEWS |
Poets Alphin, Glose see Virginia through different eyes, by Jackie Mohan, The Virginian-Pilot Poquoson Poet Bill Glose Wins Honor for Military Composition, by Mike Holtzclaw, Daily Press Cutting to the Bones, by Chris Rice Cooper Poets & Writers Directory Listing Special night of poetry on Peninsula in the Daily Press Panel at book festival looks at moving past PTSD in The Daily Progress Half a Man Book Review by Every Free Chance Book Reviews The Human Touch Book Review Appears on last page of Virginia Libraries. Glose Receives F. Scott Fitzgerald Award (pdf; 1100 KB) Article by Kathy Lee Hull, The Poquoson Post. Daily Press names three winners in its poetry contest Bill Glose, First Place (2011 Daily Press Poet Laureate). Port Folio Featured Poet (pdf; 407 KB) Article by Port Folio Weekly staff. New works from Tidewater poets in the Daily Press Virginia Poet Breaks Through at Fall for the Book Article by Nick Walker, The Broadside. |
