Born: August 28, 1952 Ohio connection: Birth Akron The first African American, as well as the youngest individual, to be awarded the post of United States poet laureate (1993-95), Rita Dove desires to make poetry more appealing to the general reader. She was born on August 28, 1952, in Akron, Ohio, into a highly-educated family whose house …
Read More Dove, RitaBorn: March 9, 1924 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland Herbert Gold was born in Cleveland, Ohio, March 9, 1924, the eldest of the four sons of Samuel S. Gold and Frieda (Frankel) Gold. When he was in grade school, a teacher, Ruth Collins, told him that he would be a writer, and this impressed the boy so …
Read More Gold, HerbertBorn: May 14, 1945 Ohio connection: Birth Mt. Gilead Son of the late Merrill C. Gilfillan, who was a conservationist and author, Merrill Daniel Gilfillan was born in 1945, rural Ohio, along the borders of the Appalachian Mountains. Growing up in that region greatly affected his writings, which often included descriptions of the landscape. Following …
Read More Gilfillan, Merrill D.Born: May 10, 1910 Died: July 12, 1996 Ohio connection: Birth Castine Born on a farm near Castine, Ohio, Merrill C. Gilfillan was the son of the late Clarence and Bertha (Pierce) Gilfillan. He attended Castine School and graduated from Monroe School in Preble County in 1928. Gilfillan graduated with a degree in zoology from Ohio State University …
Read More Gilfillan, Merrill C.Born: July 8, 1933 Died: April 10, 2016 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland Publisher, editor, and award-winning children’s book author James Cross Giblin was born in Cleveland, but was raised in Painesville, Ohio. After receiving his B.A. in 1954 from Case Western Reserve University, he settled in New York City, earning his MFA at Columbia in 1955. Initially pursuing …
Read More Giblin, James CrossBorn: September 23, 1949 Ohio connection: Birth Dayton Ann Hagedorn was born in Dayton, Ohio and grew up in Dayton, Kansas City, and Cleveland. She earned a B.A. in history from Denison University in 1971, an M.S. in information science from the University of Michigan, and an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University. Also known as …
Read More Hagedorn, AnnBorn: August 7, 1947 Ohio connection: Birth Steubenville Poet and writer Richard Hague was born in Steubenville, Ohio, in Appalachian Ohio’s Mahoning Valley. He earned his B.S. in 1969 and his M.A.in 1971 both at Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH. Hague is the author of more than 10 poetry collections and numerous chapbooks; his collected volume, During the …
Read More Hague, RichardBorn: November 3, 1935 Ohio connection: Resident Cincinnati Nancy Lenz Harvey, daughter of George W. and Grace (Adams) Lenz, was born in 1935 in Newport News, Virginia. She received a B.A. degree from Longwood College in 1957; an M.A. from the University of Richmond in 1965; and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina in 1969. …
Read More Harvey, Nancy LenzBorn: August 19, 1964 Ohio connection: Resident Kent David Hassler grew up in Kent, graduated from Kent Roosevelt High School. Hassler received a B.A. from Cornell University in New York and an MFA from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. The author of two books of poetry, Sabishi: Poems from Japan (1994) and Red Kimono, Yellow Barn (2005), he is the program and …
Read More Hassler, DavidBorn: September 19, 1954 Ohio connection: Birth Columbus Wil Haygood was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1954. His parents divorced soon after his birth and he was raised by his mother, Elvira Burke Haygood, a cook, and his grandparents, whom he credits for teaching him right from wrong. Haygood graduated from Franklin Heights High School and then …
Read More Haygood, Wil