Lawrence S. Poston III *63

Larry died April 11, 2025, in Galena, Ill., at age 86.

He was born Oct. 29, 1938, in Louisville, Ky. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1959 and earned a Ph.D. in English from Princeton in 1963.

Larry taught at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln for 10 years before moving to the University of Illinois at Chicago, then known as Chicago Circle, from which he retired in 2004.

A scholar of Victorian literature, Larry was the author of a monograph, “Loss and Gain: An Essay on Browning’s Dramatis Personae” and the book The Antagonist Principle: John Henry Newman and the Paradox of Personality. He contributed the entry on John Henry Newman to Blackwell’s Encyclopedia of Victorian Literature and a chapter to A Companion to Victorian Literature and Culture. He was a founding member of the Midwest Victorian Studies Association.

Larry served for two years as a staff member of the American Association of University Professors and remained active in the organization, including a term as second vice president. He was also involved with the Modern Language Association of America.

Larry is survived by his wife of 58 years, Carol; his daughter Rachel; and grandchildren Daniel and Gianna.

Graduate alumni memorials are prepared by the APGA.