Born: 1945 Ohio connection: Birth Mt. Gilead Son of the late conservationist and author Merrill C. Gilfillan, Merrill Daniel Gilfillan was born in 1945 in rural Ohio, along the borders of the Appalachian Mountains. Growing up in that region greatly affected his writing which often included descriptions of the landscape. Following his graduation from the …
Read More Merrill D. GilfillanBorn: 1932 Died: 1998 Ohio connection: Birth Cleveland Nina Freedlander Gibans was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Samuel O. (a surgeon) and Adeline (a teacher) Freedlander. She married James David Gibans in 1955 and they had four children and four grandchildren. She attended Wellesley College, 1950-52, and earned a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College in …
Read More Nina Freedlander GibansBorn: 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 Recent Extinctions: …
Read More Richard HagueBorn: 1964 Ohio connection: Resident Kent David Hassler grew up in Kent and graduated from Kent Roosevelt High School. Hassler received a B.A. from Cornell University, an MFA from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He is the author of two books of poetry, Sabishi: Poems from Japan and Red Kimono, Yellow Barn. The latter won Hassler …
Read More David HasslerBorn: 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: 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: 1931 Ohio connection: Resident Cleveland Adrienne Kennedy was born Adrienne Lita Hawkins, daughter of Cornell Wallace and Etta (Haugabrook) Hawkins, in 1931 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. She received a B.A. from Ohio State University in 1953, and did graduate work in creative writing at Columbia University, 1954-56. She married …
Read More Adrienne Kennedy