Lucille Clifton

Lucille Clifton was an American poet and children's author whose short, direct poems spoke about family, history, faith and resilience. Born in DePew, New York, she grew up in Buffalo and studied at Howard University and SUNY Fredonia. Her first book of poems, Good Times (1969), was named one of the year's ten best books by The New York Times.

Her many collections include Good News about the Earth (1972), Two-Headed Woman (1980), Good Woman: Poems and a Memoir (1987), Next (1987), Quilting (1991) and The Terrible Stories (1996), a National Book Award finalist. Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems 1988-2000 won the National Book Award for Poetry. She also wrote books for children, including eight about a boy named Everett Anderson; Everett Anderson's Goodbye won the Coretta Scott King Award.

Clifton served as Poet Laureate of Maryland from 1974 to 1985 and taught as a distinguished professor of humanities at St. Mary's College of Maryland. She died in 2010.