Crystal Wilkinson
Encyclopedia
Crystal E. Wilkinson is an African-American writer from Kentucky and founding member of the Affrilachian Poets, a writing collective based in Lexington, Kentucky
.
in 1962, Crystal Wilkinson was brought to her grandparents' farm in Indian Creek, Kentucky (about three miles east of Middleburg, Kentucky
) when she was only six weeks old. The only Black family in the area and like many farmers in Appalachia
, Silas Wilkinson grew cash crops of tobacco and corn and produced sorghum molasses; and, given the few jobs available for African-American women in eastern Kentucky, Christine Wilkinson cleaned and cooked in the homes of the local schoolteachers of Casey County
. Wilkinson wrote that she "lived an enchanted childhood" and that her grandparents "gave me the freedom to explore the countryside and to write, to dream, to discover." She wrote about her childhood and her upbringing in her award-winning book, Blackberries, Blackberries:
Wilkinson attended Eastern Kentucky University
in nearby Richmond, Kentucky
and graduated with a B.A. in journalism in 1985. In 2003 she earned her Masters in Fine Arts degree (in creative writing) from Spalding University
in Louisville, Kentucky
.
From 1989-1995, Wilkinson served as a public information officer and community relations manager for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, editing their quarterly environmental newsletter and handling media relations for special projects. She also began volunteering her time to public service in Lexington, most notably the Roots and Heritage Festival, helping with publicity and coordinating the literary readings.
During this time, Wilkinson would gather with other Kentucky African American writers (including Kelly Norman Ellis, Ricardo Nazario y Colon, Mitchell L. H. Douglas and Daundra Scisney-Givens) at the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center at the University of Kentucky
where Frank X Walker
was the assistant director. Inspired by the great poet Nikki Finney who was teaching creative writing at UK, they gathered to talk about their experiences and to celebrate the rural traditions of African Americans in Appalachia. In 2000, the same year that Wilkinson published her first volume, the short story collection Blackberries, Blackberries (The Toby Press, 2000), Frank X. Walker also published his first poetry collection, Affrilachia: Poems (Old Cove Press), thus formally promulgating the word that the group had coined for themselves, the Affrilachian Poets. The next year the writers celebrated their 10th year as a collective with a documentary produced by the Covington, Kentucky
-based Media Working Group: "Coal Black Voices: The History of the Affrilachian Poets." With Walker serving as a consulting producer, producer/directors Fred Johnson and Jean Donohue captured the Affrilachian Poets in interviews that included not only their political but also their poet voices. “Voices” was broadcasted on Kentucky Educational Television
(see more at www.ket.org/muse/coalblack and video clips are available online at coalblackvoices.com/documentary/video.html.
In 1997 Wilkinson was hired as the Assistant Director for the [www.carnegieliteracy.org Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning] in Lexington, Kentucky
where she taught short courses and implemented many different programs and activities for Kentucky's literary arts scene. From 1997-2001 and again in 2008 she taught high school juniors and seniors who were juried into the creative writing discipline for the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts. She also served as chair of the creative writing department from 1997-2001. In the spring of 2004, she served as the Writer-in-Residence for the Appalachian College Association, conducting advanced creative writing classes and one-on-one instruction for undergraduate writing students at Cumberland College
, Lindsey Wilson College
and Berea College
. She has taught creative writing at Eastern Kentucky University
(2002-2003), the University of Kentucky and Indiana University
-Bloomington (2004-2007).
Currently she is the Writer-in-Residence teaching writing and literature at Morehead State University
and heads the BFA in Creative Writing Program there. She offers private consultations for aspiring writers.
She and her partner artist, Ronald Davis, are founders and editors of Mythium: A Journal of Contemporary Literature, celebrating writers of color and the cultural voice.
Wilkinson has presented many workshops and given readings in the U.S., including
Wilkinson is featured in several television shows:
for the promotion of activism and feminist artist expression. In 2006 Wilkinson was the Guest Fiction Editor and featured writer for Nantahala Review. Her short fiction piece "Holler" published in Slice Literary Magazine (Spring/Summer 2010) is nominated for the 2010 Pushcart Prize.
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
.
Background
Born in Hamilton, OhioHamilton, Ohio
Hamilton is a city in Butler County, southwestern Ohio, United States. The population was 62,447 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Butler County. The city is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area....
in 1962, Crystal Wilkinson was brought to her grandparents' farm in Indian Creek, Kentucky (about three miles east of Middleburg, Kentucky
Middleburg, Kentucky
Middleburg is an unincorporated rural community with a post office sitting just off the Green River in central Casey County, Kentucky, United States. The first land owner in the area was Abraham Lincoln I, the grandfather of president Abraham Lincoln, who purchased in the area in 1784...
) when she was only six weeks old. The only Black family in the area and like many farmers in Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
, Silas Wilkinson grew cash crops of tobacco and corn and produced sorghum molasses; and, given the few jobs available for African-American women in eastern Kentucky, Christine Wilkinson cleaned and cooked in the homes of the local schoolteachers of Casey County
Casey County, Kentucky
Casey County is a county located in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. It was formed in 1807. As of 2010, the population was 15,955. Its county seat is Liberty, Kentucky. The county is named for Colonel William Casey. It is the only Kentucky county entirely in Knobs region. Casey County is home to...
. Wilkinson wrote that she "lived an enchanted childhood" and that her grandparents "gave me the freedom to explore the countryside and to write, to dream, to discover." She wrote about her childhood and her upbringing in her award-winning 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."
Wilkinson attended Eastern Kentucky University
Eastern Kentucky University
Eastern Kentucky University, commonly referred to as Eastern or by the acronym EKU by local residents, is an undergraduate and graduate teaching and research institution located in Richmond, Kentucky, U.S.A.. EKU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...
in nearby Richmond, Kentucky
Richmond, Kentucky
There were 10,795 households out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.2% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.6% were non-families. Of all households, 34.7% were made up of individuals and 8.8% had...
and graduated with a B.A. in journalism in 1985. In 2003 she earned her Masters in Fine Arts degree (in creative writing) from Spalding University
Spalding University
Spalding University is a private, co-educational university affiliated with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and located in Louisville, Kentucky.-History:...
in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
.
From 1989-1995, Wilkinson served as a public information officer and community relations manager for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, editing their quarterly environmental newsletter and handling media relations for special projects. She also began volunteering her time to public service in Lexington, most notably the Roots and Heritage Festival, helping with publicity and coordinating the literary readings.
During this time, Wilkinson would gather with other Kentucky African American writers (including Kelly Norman Ellis, Ricardo Nazario y Colon, Mitchell L. H. Douglas and Daundra Scisney-Givens) at the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center at the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
where Frank X Walker
Frank X Walker
Frank X Walker is an American poet from Danville, Kentucky. A graduate of the University of Kentucky. He completed an MFA in Writing at Spalding University in May 2003....
was the assistant director. Inspired by the great poet Nikki Finney who was teaching creative writing at UK, they gathered to talk about their experiences and to celebrate the rural traditions of African Americans in Appalachia. In 2000, the same year that Wilkinson published her first volume, the short story collection Blackberries, Blackberries (The Toby Press, 2000), Frank X. Walker also published his first poetry collection, Affrilachia: Poems (Old Cove Press), thus formally promulgating the word that the group had coined for themselves, the Affrilachian Poets. The next year the writers celebrated their 10th year as a collective with a documentary produced by the Covington, Kentucky
Covington, Kentucky
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 43,370 people, 18,257 households, and 10,132 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,301.3 people per square mile . There were 20,448 housing units at an average density of 1,556.5 per square mile...
-based Media Working Group: "Coal Black Voices: The History of the Affrilachian Poets." With Walker serving as a consulting producer, producer/directors Fred Johnson and Jean Donohue captured the Affrilachian Poets in interviews that included not only their political but also their poet voices. “Voices” was broadcasted on Kentucky Educational Television
Kentucky Educational Television
Kentucky Educational Television, also known as KET: The Kentucky Network, is Kentucky's non-commercial educational public television state network...
(see more at www.ket.org/muse/coalblack and video clips are available online at coalblackvoices.com/documentary/video.html.
In 1997 Wilkinson was hired as the Assistant Director for the [www.carnegieliteracy.org Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning] in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
where she taught short courses and implemented many different programs and activities for Kentucky's literary arts scene. From 1997-2001 and again in 2008 she taught high school juniors and seniors who were juried into the creative writing discipline for the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts. She also served as chair of the creative writing department from 1997-2001. In the spring of 2004, she served as the Writer-in-Residence for the Appalachian College Association, conducting advanced creative writing classes and one-on-one instruction for undergraduate writing students at Cumberland College
Cumberland College
Cumberland College may refer to:*Cumberland College, Otago, a residential college for the University of Otago, in Dunedin, New Zealand*Cumberland College a defunct institution in Princeton, Kentucky...
, Lindsey Wilson College
Lindsey Wilson College
Lindsey Wilson College is a private four-year college affiliated with the United Methodist Church in an open ecumenical atmosphere. The 45 acre campus is located in Columbia, Kentucky. The school currently offers associate degrees in 11 areas of study, bachelor degrees in 20 areas of study and...
and Berea College
Berea College
Berea College is a liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky , founded in 1855. Current full-time enrollment is 1,514 students...
. She has taught creative writing at Eastern Kentucky University
Eastern Kentucky University
Eastern Kentucky University, commonly referred to as Eastern or by the acronym EKU by local residents, is an undergraduate and graduate teaching and research institution located in Richmond, Kentucky, U.S.A.. EKU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...
(2002-2003), the University of Kentucky and Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
-Bloomington (2004-2007).
Currently she is the Writer-in-Residence teaching writing and literature at Morehead State University
Morehead State University
Morehead State University is a public, co-educational university located in Morehead, Kentucky, United States in the foothills of the Daniel Boone National Forest in Rowan County, midway between Lexington, Kentucky, and Huntington, West Virginia. The 2012 edition of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S...
and heads the BFA in Creative Writing Program there. She offers private consultations for aspiring writers.
She and her partner artist, Ronald Davis, are founders and editors of Mythium: A Journal of Contemporary Literature, celebrating writers of color and the cultural voice.
Wilkinson has presented many workshops and given readings in the U.S., including
- the International Conference on the Short Story in English at the University of Iowa
- the Ocean State Writers Conference
- the African American Women Writers Conference at the University of the District of Columbia
Wilkinson is featured in several television shows:
- a documentary by Frank X. Walker, "Coal Black Voices" (2001)
- "GED Connections," Kentucky Educational TelevisionKentucky Educational TelevisionKentucky Educational Television, also known as KET: The Kentucky Network, is Kentucky's non-commercial educational public television state network...
(2001) - "James Still's Legacy," Kentucky Educational TelevisionKentucky Educational TelevisionKentucky Educational Television, also known as KET: The Kentucky Network, is Kentucky's non-commercial educational public television state network...
(2003) - "Crystal Wilkinson, Poet," Connections with Renee Shaw, Kentucky Educational TelevisionKentucky Educational TelevisionKentucky Educational Television, also known as KET: The Kentucky Network, is Kentucky's non-commercial educational public television state network...
(2009)
Published works
- "dreams and reality," Obsidian II: Black Literature in Review (1995)
- "Deviled Eggs," Southern Exposure (Fall/Winter 1997)
- "Humming Yesterday," Calyx: A Journal of Art and Literature by Women (Summer 1999)
- "Women Secrets," The Briar Cliff Review (Spring 1999)
- "One Affrilachian Woman's Journey Home," Confronting Stereotypes: Back Talk from an American Region. Dwight B. Billings, Norman Gurney and Katherine Ledford, eds. University Press of Kentucky, 1999.
- "Taking Care," Gifts from Our Grandmothers. Carol Dovi, ed. Crown/Random House, 2000.
- Blackberries, Blackberries (Toby Press, 2000)
- "Mules," African Voices Magazine (August 2000)
- "Tobacco" and "Taking Death Beyond the Personal," LIT (Winter 2001)
- "Humming Back Yesterday," Home and Beyond: A Half Century of Short Stories by Kentucky Writers. Morris Grubbs, ed. University Press of Kentucky, 2001.
- "My Girl Mona," Indiana Review (Spring 2002); and, Gumbo: Black Writers. Marita Golden, ed. Harlem Moon/Doubleday, 2002.
- "The Visit," A Kentucky Christmas. George Ella Lyon, ed. University Press of Kentucky, 2003.
- "Tobacco," Tobacco Anthology. Wind Press, 2004.
- "Novel chapter excerpt from Opulence," Kentucky Humanities, Kentucky Humanities Council (Fall 2004)
- Water Street (Toby Press, 2005)
- "Healing Warrior Marks: Battling Stress," Surviving in the Hour of Darkness: The Health and Wellness of Women of Colour and Indigenous Women. Sophie Harding, ed. Calgary, Canada: University of Calgary Press, 2005.
- "Taking Care," Surviving in the Hour of Darkness: The Health and Wellness of Women of Colour and Indigenous Women. Sophie Harding, ed. Calgary, Canada: University of Calgary Press, 2005.
- "The Fight," High Horse: Contemporary Writing by the MFA Faculty of Spalding University (May 2005)
- "Spoiled," The Kentucky Anthology: Two Hundred Years of Writing in the Bluegrass State. Wade Hall, ed. University Press of Kentucky (November 2005).
- "Named 'One of the South's Best Writers Not on the Bestseller List'," This Day in the Life: Diaries from Women Across America. Three Rivers Press/Crown/Random House, 2005.
- "Processing Feedback has to be Meditation," Toxic Feedback: Helping Writers Survive and Thrive. Joni B. Cole, ed. Lebanon, NH: University Press of New England, 2006.
- "Birth of a Story in an Hour or Less," Write Now. Sherry Ellis, ed. Tarcher Books, division of Penguin (September 2006).
- "Before I Met My Father," Daddy, Can I Tell You Something?: Black Daughters Speak to Their Fathers. Angela Floyd, ed. Sela Press. (Fall 2006)
- "The Water Witch on Reading," Appalachian Heritage (Winter 2006)
- "The Water Witch on Philanthropy," Appalachian Heritage (Spring 2007)
- "Flood: 1962," Torch: Poetry, Prose, and Short Stories by African American Women. Amanda Johnson, ed. (Fall 2007)
- "Witness," Appalachian Heritage (Summer 2008)
- "Third Sunday Dinner on the Grounds, July 1976," Appalachian Heritage (Summer 2008)
- "Flood," Women. Period. Julia Watts, Parneshia Jones, Jo Ruby and Elizabeth Slade, eds. Spinster's Ink (August 2008)
- "Terrain," Appalachian Heritage (Summer 2008); and, Pluck! (Fall 2008)
- "Crop," Art Scene 9 (Jan/Feb/Mar 2009)
- "The Prodigals," Obsidian: Literature in the African Diaspora (Spring/Summer 2010)
- "Holler," Slice Literary Magazine (Spring/Summer 2010)
- "The Man I Loved," Appalachian Heritage (Summer 2010)
- "Holler," Degrees of Elevation. Page Seay and Charles Dodd White, eds. Bottom Dog Press, 2010.
Awards
Wilkinson is the recipient of many awards and fellowships, including the Sallie Bingham Award from the Kentucky Foundation for WomenKentucky Foundation for Women
The Kentucky Foundation for Women promotes feminist art and social justice by awarding grants to individual artists and organizations, providing time and space for artists and activists at its retreat center, sharing information, and building alliances....
for the promotion of activism and feminist artist expression. In 2006 Wilkinson was the Guest Fiction Editor and featured writer for Nantahala Review. Her short fiction piece "Holler" published in Slice Literary Magazine (Spring/Summer 2010) is nominated for the 2010 Pushcart Prize.
Blackberries, Blackberries
- 2001 Best Debut Fiction, Today's Librarian Magazine
- 2002 Paul and Lillie D. Chaffin Award for Appalachian Literature
- PBS Kentucky Educational Television Book Club Pick
- University of LouisvilleUniversity of LouisvilleThe University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
's Barker Lecture Freshman Book in Common Pick
Water Street
- 2003 Long List Finalist for The Orange Prize for FictionOrange Prize for FictionThe Orange Prize for Fiction is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes, annually awarded to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel written in English, and published in the United Kingdom in the preceding year...
- 2003 Short List Finalist for The Hurston-Wright Legacy AwardHurston-Wright Legacy AwardThe Hurston-Wright Legacy Award is a literary award given by the National Community of Black Writers.The Hurston/Wright Legacy Award is the first national award given to black American writers. The award namesakes are two of the most influential black authors, Zora Neale Hurston and Richard...
- PBS Kentucky Educational Television Book Club Pick
- Utne Reader Book Club Pick
- University of Cincinnati Book in Common Pick
- Nominee for Kentucky Public Librarian's Choice Award
Individual Works
- "My Girl Mona" won the 2002 Fiction Prize for Indiana Review
- "Terrain" won the 2008 Denny C. Plattner Award in Poetry, from Appalachian Heritage
- "First Sunday Dinner on the Grounds" won Honorable Mention 2008 Denny Plattner Award for Fiection, from Appalachian Heritage
See also
- Ricardo Nazario y ColónRicardo Nazario y ColónRicardo Nazario y Colón is a Puerto Rican Poet, Artist, Higher Education Administrator, Author, Language teacher, and former United States Marine.-Life:...
- Amanda JohnstonAmanda JohnstonAmanda Johnston is an African American poet. She was born in East St. Louis, Illinois and currently resides in Round Rock/Austin, Texas.A Fellow and a Poet, Johnston is both a poet and performer....
- Frank X. Walker
- AppalachiaAppalachiaAppalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
- Kentucky Foundation for WomenKentucky Foundation for WomenThe Kentucky Foundation for Women promotes feminist art and social justice by awarding grants to individual artists and organizations, providing time and space for artists and activists at its retreat center, sharing information, and building alliances....