Crystal Wilkinson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Crystal E. Wilkinson
Born	Hamilton, Ohio, US
Occupation	Author
Awards	O. Henry Prize (2021) NAACP Image Award (2022)

Crystal E. Wilkinson is an amazing African-American writer from Kentucky. She is known for her stories about Black women and communities, especially those living in the Appalachian region and the rural South. She is also a big supporter of the Affrilachian Poet movement, which celebrates Black artists from Appalachia.

Crystal Wilkinson has won many awards, including a NAACP Image Award in 2022 and an O. Henry Prize in 2021. In 2021, she was chosen as the Poet Laureate of Kentucky, making her the first Black woman to hold this special title! She also teaches writing at the University of Kentucky.

Growing Up and School

Crystal Wilkinson was born in Hamilton, Ohio, but when she was just six weeks old, she moved to her grandparents' farm in Indian Creek, Kentucky. This was a very small place, and her family was the only African-American family living there.

Life on the Farm

Her grandparents were farmers, just like many others in Appalachia. They grew crops like tobacco and corn. Her grandmother also worked by cleaning and cooking for local schoolteachers. Crystal remembers her childhood as a magical time. She said her grandparents let her explore the countryside, write, dream, and discover new things.

She wrote about her childhood in her book, Blackberries, Blackberries: "I grew up on a farm in Indian Creek, Kentucky during the seventies. I swam in creeks and roamed the knobs and hills. We had an outhouse and no inside running water. Our house was heated by coal and wood-burning stoves and we lived so far back in the woods that we could get only one television station. But it was a place of beauty - trees, green grass and blue sky as far as you could see. I am country. Being country is as much a part of me as my full lips, wide hips, dreadlocks and high cheek bones. There are many Black country folks who have lived and are living in small towns, up hollers and across knobs. They are all over the South—scattered like milk thistle seeds in the wind. The stories in this book are centered in these places."

Education Journey

Crystal went to Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, where she studied Journalism and earned her bachelor's degree in 1985. Later, in 2003, she earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky.

Her Career as a Writer and Teacher

Early in her career, Crystal Wilkinson worked for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, helping with public information and media. She also volunteered her time to help with the Roots and Heritage Festival in Lexington, where she helped organize literary readings.

The Affrilachian Poets

During this time, Crystal joined other African-American writers in Kentucky. This group later became known as The Affrilachian Poets. They were guided by the poet Nikky Finney. In 2000, Crystal published her first book, a collection of short stories called Blackberries, Blackberries. This book won the Chaffin Award for Appalachian Literature.

Teaching and Mentoring

Crystal has always loved teaching and helping other writers.

• From 1997 to 2001, and again in 2008, she taught creative writing to high school students at the Governor's School for the Arts.
• She has also taught creative writing at several universities, including Eastern Kentucky University, Indiana University Bloomington, and Morehead State University.
• Since 2020, she has been a professor at the University of Kentucky, where she teaches English and African American studies. She also works with the UK Appalachian Center.

Other Projects

Crystal and her partner, Ronald Davis, started a journal called Mythium: A Journal of Contemporary Literature, which featured writers of color. They also owned a bookstore and coffee shop called The Wild Fig Books and Coffee in Lexington, Kentucky, from 2011 to 2018.

Crystal has given many workshops and readings across the U.S., sharing her stories and insights. In 2021, she was named the Poet Laureate of Kentucky, a very important role that celebrates her contributions to literature.

She has also been featured in several television shows, including "Coal Black Voices" and "Connections with Renee Shaw" on Kentucky Educational Television.

Awards and Recognition

Crystal Wilkinson has received many awards and honors for her writing.

• In 2016, she received the Ernest Gaines Fellowship for Literary Excellence.
• She also won the Sallie Bingham Award from the Kentucky Foundation for Women for her work promoting activism and feminist art.
• Her short story "Holler" was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2010.
• In 2020, she was recognized as a USA Fellow by United States Artists.

Blackberries, Blackberries Awards

• 2001: Best Debut Fiction by Today's Librarian Magazine
• 2002: Paul and Lillie D. Chaffin Award for Appalachian Literature
• Chosen for the PBS Kentucky Educational Television Book Club

Water Street Awards

• 2003: Longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction
• 2003: Shortlisted for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award
• Chosen for the PBS Kentucky Educational Television Book Club

The Birds of Opulence Awards

• Featured in Oxford American magazine
• Winner of the 10th Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence
• Winner of the 2017 Judy Gaines Young Book Award
• Winner of the 2017 Weatherford Award for Appalachian Fiction
• 2016: Appalachian Book of the Year in Fiction
• 2019: Appalachian Heritage Writer's Award

Awards for Individual Stories

• "My Girl Mona" won the 2002 Fiction Prize by the Indiana Review.
• "Terrain" won the 2008 Denny C. Plattner Award in Poetry.
• "First Sunday Dinner on the Grounds" won an Honorable Mention for the 2008 Denny Plattner Award for Fiction.

Published Books

Crystal Wilkinson has written several wonderful books:

• Blackberries, Blackberries (2000)
• Water Street (2002)
• The Birds of Opulence (2016)
• Perfect Black (2021)
• Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts. Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks (2024)

Images for kids

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  Crystal Wilkinson