Born in Passaic, N.J. to Winthrop and Laura Watson in 1925, Mr. Watson attended public schools there. During World War II, he was a member of the U.S. Navy. He received a B.A. from Williams College with honors in economics, then both an M.A. and Ph.D. in Literature in English from The Johns Hopkins University, and taught at both institutions. In 1946-47 he attended the University of Zurich on a Swiss-American Exchange Fellowship; while there he studied art history and learned to ski.
In 1953, Mr. Watson came with his wife, the painter Betty Watson, to teach in the English Department at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro – then The Woman’s College. At the request of the English Department he activated the M.F.A program in 1964 and in 1965 founded The Greensboro Review, a literary journal. His abiding interest was in the many graduates whose careers and successes he followed through the years.
Along with his family Mr. Watson spent many summers in Provincetown, MA and sabbaticals in New York City and Key West where he wrote several of his books. He served as a visiting writer in 1968-69 at San Fernando Valley State College (now University of California at Northridge). After retiring from teaching he and Betty travelled abroad exploring countries, many with cultures different from ours, including Nepal, India, Bali and Morocco.
Mr. Watson published eight collections of poetry including Robert Watson The Complete Poems published in 2011, and two novels, Three Sides of the Mirror and Lily Lang. Short works were included in publications such as The New York Times, American Scholar, The New Yorker, Harpers, Miami Daily News, Poetry Magazine and others. He won honors from numerous arts organizations, among them the National Endowment for the Arts and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He gave lectures and readings of his works at colleges and other institutions including the Library of Congress.
Mr. Watson is survived by his wife, Betty; his son and daughter-in-law, Winthrop and Signe Watson of Pittsburgh, PA; his daughter and son-in-law, Caroline and William Keens of Falls Church, VA; two granddaughters, Margaret and Elizabeth Watson, and two grandsons, Gavin and Benjamin Keens.
The family will have a private memorial.
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