Kelly Cherry

Kelly Cherry (December 21, 1940 – March 18, 2022) was an American novelist, poet, essayist, professor, and literary critic and a former Poet Laureate of Virginia (2010–2012). 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''. 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. Provided by Wikipedia