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Perfect Black by Crystal Wilkinson wins 2022 NAACP Image Award

Crystal
Mark Cornelison | UKphoto/Mark Cornelison |UKphoto
Crystal Wilkinson took part in Book Benches: A Tribute to Kentucky Authors on July 16, 2018. Photo by Mark Cornelison | UKphoto





A book by Kentucky Poet Laureate and UK associate professor Crystal Wilkinson has won this year’s NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in poetry. WUKY’s Arlo Barnette reports.

In an extended interview with WUKY when she was appointed the state’s first black, female poet laureate last year, Crystal Wilkinson spoke about her then-forthcoming book, Perfect Black.

The book is an homage to the author’s rural roots in South Central Kentucky, punctuated by the striking illustrations of Wilkinson’s longtime partner, Ronald W. Davis.

In addition to the NAACP award, Perfect Black received the Thomas D. Clark Medallion Award, which is awarded to writers whose literary achievements highlight Kentucky history and culture.

https://www.wuky.org/tags/crystal-wilkinson