December 31, 1936 -
African-American poet, painter, novelist, teacher and editor
Author of "All-Night Visitors", "My Amputations", "Dirty Bird Blues" and "Configurations: New and Selected Poems Copper Canyon Press 1958 - 1998" (for which he was a finalist for the National Book Award for Poetry in 1999)
Won the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award in the Fine Arts from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
Was inducted into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame in 2021