[3] In 1985, Clewell began teaching in the English Department at Webster University.
[3][6] A year later, he started the Webster University Visiting Writers Series, which he still coordinated until his death.
[5] As an instructor at Webster University, Clewell taught courses on 19th- and 20th-century literature, as well as poetry workshops and seminars.
In 2010, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon noted that Clewell "has a unique perspective on contemporary American life and the characters and ideas that loom large in our recent history.
[5][dead link] He lived in Webster Groves, Missouri with his wife Patricia.