Kelly cherry biography

American writer and poet laureate (1940–2022)

Kelly Cherry (December 21, 1940 – March 18, 2022) was an American novelist, poet, essayist, professor, and literary critic^[1] and a former Poet Laureate of Virginia (2010–2012).^[2] She was the author of more than 30 books, including the poetry collections Songs for a Soviet Composer, Death and Transfiguration, Rising Venus and The Retreats of Thought.^[3][1] Her short fiction was reprinted in The Best American Short Stories, Prize Stories: The O.

Henry Awards, The Pushcart Prize, and New Stories from the South, and won a number of awards.^[4]

Life

Cherry was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana,^[1] to J. Milton, a violinist and music professor, and Mary Spooner, a violinist and writer.^[5] She moved to Ithaca, New York, at age 5, and Chesterfield County, Virginia, at age 9.

She received her bachelor's degree from Mary Washington College in 1961 Kelly Cherry | The Poetry Foundation WABE