Minnesota Writer Carol Bly Dies of Ovarian Cancer
Beloved writer, author, teacher and poet Carol Bly died on Friday, December 21 after a long battle with ovarian cancer. The Minnesota native was beloved by many readers because of her strong moral voice and the sympathetic messages within her writings. Many of her essays and writings are set in “small town†Minnesota – the place she loved and knew the best. Bly’s book of writings and poems, “Changing the Bully Who Rules the World†is considered her premier work by many of her fellow authors and fans alike. The book explored violence on a variety of different fronts and sympathy towards others.
Carol was born in Duluth, Minnesota in 1930. She married Robert Bly in 1955 and moved to Madison, Minn. Along with her husband, they wrote against the Vietnam War, Watergate, Nuclear testing and other political and social issues and became a voice for the times. She and her husband divorced in 1979 but remained in contact and civil. In 2004 Carol started her own publishing company along with social worker Cynthia Loveland called Bly & Loveland Press. The press creates pamphlets to educate families on the effects of violent television, pamphlets against conservative Republicans and pamphlets on in-effective clergymen and women.
Her ex-husband Robert Bly stated this past week, “She was a light, a fire, for all those people wandering around on the prairie. She was an excellent mother. And a terrific friend of writers and of writing.”
A memorial service will be held in honor of Carol Bly in early 2008. However, condolences or memorial gifts can be sent to the Carol Bly Fund at Loft Literary Center.
1011 Washington Ave. S.,
Minneapolis, MN 55415