Corrine Bostic served on the Worcester County Poetry Association’s founding executive committee at its creation in 1971. She served as its vice president from 1972 to 1973, on The Worcester Review editorial board, and as a board member until she died in 1981.
A poet and playwright, Corrine contributed to Worcester’s culture through her books, teaching, public appearances, and readings. In her book of poetry, Requiem for Bluesville, she states her obligation as a Black poet to “pour out / The lamentations of my people.”
She also edited an anthology of work by local writers, Messages in Black, which contained what are considered two of her best poems, “These Riotous Days” and “Ballad for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr..” Additional publications include The Horns of Freedom, Other Places, Other Faces, and Go Onward and Upward.
Corrine was born on March 28, 1927, in Providence and had seven siblings. She served in the Army Medical Corps during the Korean War. In 1953 Bostic moved to Worcester to attend Worcester Junior College. She later graduated from Clark University. The Corrine Bostic Memorial Scholarship from Worcester State University is awarded annually in her honor.