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.
