Baron Wormser, poet, essayist, novelist and teacher, died of brain cancer at his home in Montpelier, Vt., with his family on October 7, 2025. He would like to be remembered for his writing, which includes 10 books of poetry, including a posthumous volume that will be out in January, James Baldwin Smoking a Cigarette and Other Poems; as well as two coauthored books about teaching the art of poetry; and a memoir, The Road Washes Out in Spring, about his 23 years of living off the grid with his family. He also leaves behind four novels, a book of short stories, and many essays on his Substack, “The Exciting Nightmare,” and in the online journal Vox Populi, among others. He was recognized for his writing with grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the John Guggenheim Foundation and was appointed Poet Laureate of Maine from 2001 to 2005. He received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Maine at Augusta in 2005. A high school librarian for much of his life, Baron also taught writing at the Stonecoast, Fairfield University, and Western Connecticut MFA programs and at the Frost Place, and was a respected and inspiring teacher, mentor and editor for many writers.
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I benefited enormously from Baron’s gift as a teacher, particularly about Emily Dickinson and the writing of poetry. My sincere condolences to Janet and his whole family.
Baron was a gift of kindness. May peace surround you, Janet
No writer I’ve known combined Baron’s dedication to poetry (and other genres), to teaching, and to unbending humane values. It is not only the literary worl;d but also the world at large which is diminished by his absence.
Baron’s audacity as a writer was staggering. His generosity of spirit was moving. His many summer visits to work with AP teachers at the institute at St. Johnsbury Academy are a huge legacy in themselves, and part of a larger legacy of artistry and moral clarity. What a loss.
Dear Janet, I’m so sorry to hear of Baron’s death. I was looking for his latest book online to order it and say hi to him, and am saddened to find his obit.
I owned the Oz bookstore in southwest Harbor years ago. Baron and you visited. I need to say more and will send a card. What a spectacular human and poet he was! This traumatized world will miss him.
What a wonderful writer but even more so what a wonderful man. I am a better man for knowing him. As a student/writer he was God’s HESED to me. Missed deeply.
Baron was an extraordinary teacher, mentor and human being. Such a gentle soul who lived his commitments. I will miss his presence in the world.
Dear Janet,
Baron was my generous and kind editor at CavanKerry. He helped me with Body of Diminishing Motion. May his memory be a blessing.
Sincerely,
Joan
Baron and I were fellow English majors in the same graduating class as undergraduates at Johns Hopkins and were in many of the same classes. I did not know him well, but many years later after enjoying his poems when they appeared in The Writer’s Almanac emailed him to reintroduce myself and tell him how much I respected him and enjoyed his work. He was characteristically kind and humble in response. Since then I have continued to enjoy, at times cherish what he has shared of life through his writing. Baron Wormser was a blessing and what he shared of himself will endure.
O Janet- what sad sad news. None of us that are left behind can see any sense in having Baron snatched so soon.
Joan Wood