The Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame recognizes published authors that have contributed to the canon of great Kentucky works. Among this year's inductees is poet and novelist, Crystal Wilkinson. A founding member of the Appalachian poets, Wilkinson served as Kentucky's twenty twenty one, twenty twenty two poet laureate.
"My literary imagination will always live in Appalachia. It's of me. It's genetic. It's an ancestral mark. I'm haunted by the landscape, the place, the people of that place," Wilkinson said in her acceptance speech.
Last year, Wilkinson released Praise Song for the Kitchen Ghosts, stories and recipes from five generations of black country cooks.
"Like many of you, I know that my purpose on this earth is to look and to see and to write all of the world's beauty and its ugly too."
Also inducted were historian Ronald Eller, poet Frank x Walker, playwright Naomi Wallace, and journalist David Dick, who died in 2010. His family was present to receive the award.