John Marshall, the owner of Open Books up in Wallingford, informs us that local poet William Witherup died yesterday of leukemia. Here is what Marshall has to say about him:

Bill was, to various degrees, very sweet and very crusty. He spent much of his life, politically and through poetry, focused on the plight of Downwinders, of which he was one—people who grew up and lived downwind of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

You can find a short bio, a sample poem, and more of Witherup's books here.