From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)

Wilkinson, Crystal

(born: 1962) 

Crystal Wilkinson was born in Ohio and grew up in Indian Creek, KY. She chaired the Creative Writing Department for the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts, taught creative writing at the University of Kentucky, served as a writer-in-residence at Eastern Kentucky University, and was a member of the faculty of Spalding University's MFA Program. In 2007, she was a writer in residence at Morehead State University. CrystalWilkinson is presently an associate professor in the English Department at the University of Kentucky.

Wilkinson is author of Blackberries, Blackberries; Water Street; and a host of works in anthologies and serial publications. Her works have received a number of awards and recognitions, including the 2002 Chaffin Award for Appalachian Literature. Her book Birds of Opulence was named winner of the 2016 Weatherford Award for Fiction and the 2017 Judy Gaines Young Book Award. Crystal Wilkinson and her partner Ron Davis are the former owners of the Wild Fig Coffee + Books Store in Lexington, KY.

In 2021, Crystal Wilkinson became the first African American woman named the Kentucky Poet Laureate

For more see Crystal Wilkinson on Connections with Renee Shaw, video #1126.

Kentucky County & Region

Read about Casey County, Kentucky in Wikipedia.
Read about Fayette County, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Kentucky Place (Town or City)

Read about Indian Creek, Kentucky in Wikipedia.
Read about Lexington, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

Outside Kentucky Place Name

Item Relations

Cited in this Entry

NKAA Source: Blackberries, blackberries
NKAA Source: Water Street
NKAA Source: Birds of opulence

Related Entries Citing this Entry

NKAA Entry: Appalachian Counties in Kentucky

Cite This NKAA Entry:

“Wilkinson, Crystal,” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, accessed December 11, 2023, https://ukscrc001.net/nkaa/items/show/125.

Last modified: 2023-06-19 16:11:00