 During his time at the University of Denver, his first two books were published, "Nothing But the Night" (1948), a novel depicting the terror and waywardness resulting from an early traumatic experience, and "The Broken Landscape" (1949), a collection of poetry.Upon completing his MA, Williams enrolled at the University of Missouri, where he taught and worked on his Ph.D. in English literature, which he obtained in 1954.In the fall of 1955, Williams returned to the University of Denver as an Assistant Professor, becoming director of the creative-writing program.