Born: 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 attended Miami …
Read More Wil HaygoodBorn: July 29, 1909Died: November 12, 1984 Ohio connection: Former Resident Cleveland Chester Bomar Himes was a writer who is best remembered for his hardboiled detective novels set in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood. In his lifetime, Himes published seventeen novels, 60 short stories and two autobiographies that explore labor relations, violence, and racism. Born in …
Read More Chester HimesBorn: September 9, 1871 Died: November 3, 1962 Ohio connection: Former Resident Minerva Ralph Hodgson was born in 1871 in Yorkshire, England, the sixth in a family of seven boys and six girls born to Ralph and Mary Graham Hodgson. Little is known about his childhood, as he was a very private person, resisting attempts to …
Read More Ralph HodgsonBorn: 1949 Ohio connection: Birth Mentor Sara E. (Traynor) Holbrook has lived in Ohio for more than 20 years having earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Mount Union College (Alliance, OH). She began writing poetry for her two daughters (now adults with children of their own) when they were children. Holbrook has …
Read More Sara HolbrookBorn: October 13, 1929 Died: March 31, 2022 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland Born in 1929, Richard Joseph Howard held a distinguished place in contemporary American literature for his work as a poet, critic, and translator. He was adopted as a baby, and it is not known who his biological parents were. It is said he …
Read More Richard HowardBorn: February 1, 1901Died: May 22, 1967 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland James Langston Hughes was born in 1901 in Joplin, Missouri, the son of James Nathaniel and Carrie Mercer (Langston) Hughes. While he was an infant, his parents separated and he moved to Lawrence, Kansas, where his grandmother raised him. When his grandmother died, he moved …
Read More Langston HughesBorn: November 29, 1883Died: February 20, 1966 Ohio connection: Birth Steubenville Dard Hunter, son of William Henry and Harriet (Rosemond-Browne) Hunter, was born in 1883 in Steubenville, Ohio. His great-grandfather had set up a printing office in rural Ohio in 1812, and his grandfather and father owned and edited newspapers. While a boy, Hunter learned to …
Read More Dard HunterBorn: 1932 Ohio connection: Former Resident Columbus John William Jakes, son of John Adrian and Bertha Retz Jakes, was born in 1932 in Chicago, Illinois. He was the only child of parents who were in their forties when he was born. While growing up, he shared many of their pastimes, including reading, movies, and theater. Though …
Read More John William JakesBorn: 1961 Ohio connection: Resident Kent Born in Tuskegee, Alabama and raised in Windham, Ohio, Angela Johnson, the award-winning author of more than 40 books for children and young adults, attended Kent State University before dropping out to pursue a career as a children’s author. Working as a nanny, she was employed by Newbery-Medal-winning author Cynthia …
Read More Angela JohnsonBorn: 1950 Ohio connection: Birth Athens John Kachuba received a B.A. in English from Sacred Heart University in Connecticut and M.A. degrees in creative writing from Antioch University (1996) and Ohio University (2003). He has had many articles published in national newspapers, magazines, and journals, including Tin House, Hawaii Pacific Review, Connecticut Review, Dogwood, Antioch Review, and Poets and Writers. He …
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