SANFORD — When those in Sanford and Springvale village read Robley Wilson Jr.’s books, they sometimes feel they are reading about home.

Often, the short story writer, poet and novelist would describe locations that seemed very familiar. He called the towns or the villages in his book by some other name, but often those who live here knew he was really describing this street or that neighborhood in Sanford.

Wilson, who was also a longtime editor of the North American Review, was born and raised in Sanford and went to Bowdoin College after graduating from Sanford High School in 1948. He told a reporter in 2001 that he quit college a couple of times, and worked at the Sanford Tribune, the forerunner to the Journal Tribune, during those periods, first as a proofreader and then as a reporter.

He died in Florida Aug. 7. He was 88.

His latest novel, “After Paradise,” was published in 2017.

According to the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, Wilson taught creative writing at the University of Northern Iowa from 1963 to 1996.

He was editor-in-chief of the North American Review, the nation’s oldest magazine, for 31 years.

“We were distant cousins,” said Harland Eastman, Sanford’s historian. “His father, who was also named Robley, was a Latin teacher at Sanford High School for most of his life, his grandfather was a local lawyer and his great-grandfather was a medical doctor.”

He said Wilson was highly regarded in his field.

Adult Education teacher Gail Burnett said she was teaching a short story class about 10 years ago, and emailed Wilson after reading one of his short stories.

“He was going to visit the area, so he agreed to come to my adult ed class,” Burnett said. “He spoke about writing and about growing up in the Sanford of a much earlier era. He was gracious and kind.”

Wilson was inducted into the SHS Hall of Fame in 2001.

Sanford High School teacher Paul Auger, a member of the SHS Hall of Fame Committee which inducted Wilson and other graduates, said as they were preparing to induct Wilson, English teacher Rene Simard recognized the name from an English textbook used at the school at the time.

“We teach one of his stories,” Auger said Simard told him.

His works include four novels, several collections of short stories and four books of poetry, for which he won numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a screenplay, called Land Fishers, for which he won a fellowship from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

A collection of short stories called  The Book of Lost Fathers contains several stories set in the fictional town of Scoggin, a community based on Sanford.

His widow, Susan Hubbard, who is also a writer, said a memorial service will be held in Sanford in late September or early October.

Hubbard said small town Maine formed a lot of Wilson’s fiction and pointed out his last novel is set here.

“So many of his short stories were in and around Sanford, “ she said. “His work gets into what it is to be a Mainers, especially in that part of Maine.”

She said her husband enjoyed returning to Sanford for high school reunions and other occasions, like his induction in the SHS Hall of Fame.

“That really pleased him,” she said.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.