It is with sadness that I have just finished writing an obituary for Charles Guenther, who died Thursday at 88.

He was such a quiet gentleman and one of the most generous, hard-working book reviewers I’ve ever worked with. He reviewed poetry for the Post-Dispatch for an incredible 50 years. I edited reviews he wrote between about 1993 and 2003, when he retired. He wrote for nine book editors, I believe, starting with Thomas Sherman in 1953.

If you read the news story at http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment you will learn more about Mr. Guenther and the funeral arrangements. Visitation is from 3-8 p.m. Sunday at Kutis funeral home in Affton, Mo.

For a story in next week’s Sunday A&E section or for this blog, I welcome comments from poets and readers who knew Mr. Guenther.

My email address, of course, is jhenderson@post-dispatch.com.