Edward Halsey Foster, poet, publisher, and scholar, died peacefully on January 12, 2026, in the company of his family at Ferncliff Nursing Home in Rhinebeck, NY. He was 83.
Foster was born December 12, 1942 in Northampton, MA. The son of Edward Clark Foster and Edith Derosia Foster, he spent his early years in Williamsburg, MA, and attended Williston Academy, graduating in 1961. Eager to move to New York City and experience the literary scene of the 1960s, he attended Columbia University, receiving his BA in 1965 and his PhD in American Studies in 1970. While still in graduate school, Foster began teaching at Stevens Institute of Technology where he achieved the rank of full professor and taught for more than 50 years. While at Stevens, Foster served as Dean and created the College of Arts and Sciences.
With grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and NJ State Council on the Arts, he established a multiyear Festival of NJ Poets, welcoming Allen Ginsberg, Amiri Baraka, and John Ciardi among others.
He was a Fulbright professor at Haceteppe University in Ankara in 1978-79 and Istanbul University in 1985-86 and later a visiting lecturer at Beykent University, all in Turkey. He also pioneered faculty exchanges with universities in Turkey and Russia, and lectured widely on American Studies and poetry at universities around the world.
Foster authored more than 40 volumes of poetry and criticism. Eventually his passion for poetry led him to create Talisman: A Journal of Contemporary Poetry and Poetics. The journal ran from 1988 to 2014 in print and then continued online. Initially each issue was devoted to a single poet; Alice Notley was the first. Later volumes were more wide-ranging and inclusive, but always with the goal that each “poet could be read free of any single poetic tradition.”
He went on to found Talisman House Publishers, which published anthologies, poetry, criticism and selected works by various authors reflecting movements such as New York School, Beats, Black Mountain, San Francisco Renaissance, and Boston Occult, among others. Gay writers and international literature were also featured. Poets including William Bronk, Simon Pettet, Gustaf Sobin, Burt Kimmelman, Elinor Nauen, Joseph Donahue and Timothy Liu graced the covers. Foster was widely considered to be one of the most important independent publishers of avant-garde poetry.
On retirement from academia, Ed moved to Northfield, MA, where he enjoyed hiking, gardening, and hosting poets and artists at literary weekends. He founded the Pioneer Valley Poetry Project with a group of friends, organizing readings and continuing his commitment to contemporary poetry and poetics. Ed enjoyed international travel throughout his life, including trips to Iceland, Norway, and Sweden with his children and grandchildren, and many trips to Turkey with family and friends.
Foster is survived by his brother, Roy Foster of Fort Lauderdale, FL; his former wife, Elaine Dunphy Foster of Jersey City, NJ; his daughter, Katherine Hearn Foster, of NYC; his son, John Clark Foster (Johanna Hagelthorn) of Saugerties, NY; grandchildren Sophia (Taylor Foster) of Jersey City, NJ, Irene of Washington, D.C., Ian of Saugerties, NY.
A private service is planned for the family.
Memorial contributions can be made to The Nature Conservancy, The Poetry Project, or Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.