Michael Castro, a highly regarded writer and advocate for literature, who served as the first St. Louis poet laureate, died of colon cancer Dec. 23, at his University City home.  He was 73 and had resided in St. Louis since he moved here at the age of 22.

Mr. Castro was born in New York on July 28, 1945, the son of Joseph and Molly Colfino Castro.

Mr. Castro’s father was a Sephardic Jew born in Salonica in the Ottoman Empire (now part of Greece). His mother was born in New York City to immigrant parents of Romaniot ethnicity (Jews who arrived in Greece under the Roman Empire).  Mr. Castro’s great-grandfather was head rabbi in Salonica and a great-great-grandfather was head rabbi in Palestine. Mr. Castro was very proud of his Sephardic Jewish parentage and often wrote about it in his poems.

After completing his undergraduate studies at State University of New York at Buffalo, Mr. Castro came to St. Louis as a graduate student at Washington University. He was part of the anti-war movement at the university and began performing his poetry with a group called Peace Eye Poets.

Mr. Castro published 10 books of poems. The most recent, published in 2017, is “We Need to Talk: New & Selected Poems, 1970-2016.” His work was included in The Sagarin Review and the three volumes of Harvest collections by local writers.

Mr. Castro was a major figure in local literary circles for more than half a century, and was admired by his fellow poets whose work he supported through the years. He was a founder with a group of friends of River Styx, now an international and award-winning journal of poetry, fiction, essays, interviews and art. It began as a radio show on KDNA-FM called River Styx Poets. The show ended when the radio station was sold in 1972. The poets then began a literary press and a reading series at Duff’s in the Central West End, at which such acclaimed poets as Amy Clampitt and Adrienne Rich were among the guest readers. 

Mr. Castro taught for eight years at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and then for more than 30 years at Lindenwood University.

On Jan. 2, 2015, Castro was sworn as St. Louis’ first poet laureate. He was selected from a field of 60-plus candidates, receiving the unanimous vote of an outside task force and then approval of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen. 

Despite his illness, Mr. Castro recently attended a program at which St. Louis author Howard Schwartz read selections from his latest book. Mr. Castro was his usual expansive self, warmly greeting his many friends with a smile and a handshake.

In a statement to the Jewish Light, Schwartz said, “Mike Castro and I were close friends since we met at graduate school at Washington University in 1967. We had a lot in common—we both loved books—Mike was always reading a novel—and we both loved reading, writing and discussing literature, especially poets and poetry.” 

Castro’s first work was published in Ripple, an anthology of local writers published in 1970. Allen Ginsberg hung that Castro poem, “Brown Rice,” in his kitchen. 

“Ginsberg was a huge hero for Mike, who was inspired by the beat poets and loved giving and attending poetry readings,” Schwartz said.

Mr. Castro attended the November ceremony at City Hall, at which his friend Shirley LeFlore became the new poet laureate. He also danced at a party in her honor.

In the dedication for his last collection of poetry, Mr. Castro wrote, “For love, for poets I’ve known, and for my wife and best friend Adelia,” referring to his wife, the photographer Adelia Parker-Castro, whom he married in 1987.

The collection emphasized the importance of looking past race, color and stereotypes so that intimate and open conversations could be had with others. (Check the Jewish Light ChaiLights next week for the time.)

A celebration of Mr. Castro’s life will be held Sunday, Jan. 20 at Central Reform Congregation, where Rabbi James Stone Goodman, another longtime friend of Mr. Castro’s and fellow poet, will officiate.  

In addition to his wife, Mr. Castro is survived by his son, Jomo Castro; a stepson, Darin Parker, and stepdaughter, Veronica James and seven grandchildren.