Skip to main content

Women’s History Month’s Feature: Lucille Clifton, Poet, Writer, and Educator

Hello book lovers! In celebration of Women’s History Month, I would like to present to you, poet, writer, and educator, Lucille Clifton. Born Thelma Lucille Sayles, in Depew, New York, she moved with her husband James Clifton and family to Baltimore, Maryland in 1967. In 1969, she published her first poetry collection, Good Times, that was listed by The New York Times as one of the year’s ten best books. Her collection of poems dealt with social, racial and political issues as well as her identity as a woman and as a poet. From 1971 to 1974, she was poet-in-residence at Coppin State University and from 1979 to 1985, she was Poet Laureate for the state of Maryland.  She was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist for poetry (twice). 

Some of her notable works include Good News About the Earth: New Poems (1972), An Ordinary Woman (1974), Two-Headed Woman (1980) that won the Juniper Prize, her children’s book - Everett Anderson’s Good-bye that won the 1984 Coretta Scott King Award, and The Book of Light (1993).  She taught creative writing at various universities and won several awards including an Emmy Award, a Lannan Literary Award for Poetry (1996), a National Book Award for Poetry (2000), and the Robert Frost Medal (2010). She was definitely a trailblazer (1936 – 1984). Check out her quote about writing as a way of hope. #womenshistorymonth #poet #writer #educator #JuniperPrizeWinner #EmmyAwardWinner #PulitzerPrizeFinalist #LannanLiteraryAward #NationalBookAward #RobertFrostMedal #LucilleClifton #vocalexpressions 



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

It’s A Book Thing Presents: An Interview with Debbie Stokes, author of The Stranger He Knew

Author’s Bio: Debbie Stokes was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She has always had a desire to be a published author of a fiction novel, but fear stopped her. She often shares how her story ideas come to her in her dreams, and how she jumps up to write them down. Finally, one day, she pushed past her fear and allowed her vision to come to past. She is now a published author, and The Stranger He Knew is her first book.  Debbie is a former CEO, blogger, and interviewer for her previous women's empowerment blog called, 3 Women Voices, where she shared empowering stories of how people overcame odds to live their best lives. She is also a former contributing writer for FEMI Magazine, a cultural lifestyle magazine, where she interviewed and shared people’s stories.  When not writing, she enjoys singing, dancing, inspiring others, and spending time with family.  Deliah Lawrence: What inspired you to write your book? Debbie Stokes: That is a funny story. One day, I went

Interview with Jacqueline Seewald, Author of THE INHERITANCE

Author’s Bio: Multiple award-winning author, Jacqueline Seewald, has taught creative, expository and technical writing at Rutgers University as well as high school English. She also worked as both an academic librarian and an educational media specialist. Sixteen of her books of fiction have previously been published to critical praise including books for adults, teens and children. Her short stories, poems, essays, reviews and articles have appeared in hundreds of diverse publications and numerous anthologies. What inspired you to write your book? I enjoy writing romantic mystery fiction. The idea for this particular novel just seemed to evolve organically from my imagination. Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult? I would have to say reading the Bible was influential. As far as regular books go, I’m a big fan of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Is this your first book? How long did it take to start and

It’s A Book Thing Presents: An Interview with Erica Ginsberg, author of Creative Resilience

Author’s Bio: Erica Ginsberg has drawn on creativity in a variety of different roles: writer, documentary filmmaker, story consultant, project manager, and social entrepreneur. She co-founded the documentary film organization Docs In Progress and served as its founding executive director for more than a decade. She co-hosts The D-Word, a peer-to-peer global community for documentary professionals.  In addition to working in the arts, Erica has organized professional development study tours to the United States for mid-career professionals from around the world. She has a BA in international affairs and an MA in film and video. She finds joy in travel, painting, collage, reading, nature hikes, and spending time with friends, family, and her dog, Lulu.  Note: The most valuable piece of writing advice she has ever given is m ake bad stuff so you can get to good stuff. Really great advice for those of us who lean towards perfectionism.   Deliah Lawrence: What inspired you to write your b