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in
Cleveland, Ohio wrote that "Atkins creates a singular, Cleveland-based beauty in his language and the sounds it produces." And "the poet surveys the city, its residents, and surroundings, noting how even traditionally beatific images, such as a sunset, can transform into something less gorgeous in
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poetry. He was born
Russell Phillip Kelly, on February 25, 1926, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Perry Kelly and Sarah Harris, but was adopted by three women named Mamie Belle Atkins, Willie Mae Allen and their mother. He was raised on Cleveland's east side and resided in the family home until 2010. He
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to call it "the only Black literary magazine of national importance in existence." In 1959 Free Lance Press began publishing books, with a volume of poetry from Conrad Kent Rivers.
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in the United States, arranging the words on the page to enhance poems' meaning. He was also an innovator in poetic drama. Much of Atkins' work, including the verse drama
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Patrick James
Dunagan wrote: "Both prolific and diverse, Russell Atkins’ literary output crosses over traditional divisions of genre, style, and form."
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later moved to an assisted living facility and then to a nursing home named Algart
Healthcare on the city's west side until his death.
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was under Atkins leadership for more than two decades, and allowed Atkins to correspond with writers from across the country.
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In 2017 the City of
Cleveland granted a portion of Grand Avenue the supplementary name "Russell Atkins Way" in his honor.
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191:, edited by Kevin Prufer and Robert E. McDonough, was published by the Cleveland State University Poetry Center.
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Trained as a musician and visual artist, Atkins studied at
Cleveland College, Cleveland Music School Settlement,
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Black Book
Publishers in the United States: A Historical Dictionary of the Presses, 1817-1990
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in 1950 with his friend, Adelaide Simon, with the first issue containing an introduction by
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In 2013 the
Pleiades Press at the University of Missouri published a collection entitled
22:(February 25, 1926 – August 15, 2024) was an American poet, playwright and composer from
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continues to attract critical attention. In 2014 the poet Joshua Ware, who teaches at
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349:"Rediscovering Russell Atkins - Belt Magazine - Dispatches From The Rust Belt"
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In 2017 he was awarded the
Cleveland Arts Prize for his lifetime achievement.
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Despite being published almost forty years ago and being long out of print,
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70:. It attracted writers from all over the world, leading the now-defunct
261:"Russell Atkins: On the Life & Work of an American Master" (review)
473:"Review: Russell Atkins: On the Life & Work of an American Master"
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introduced Atkins' work to magazines. Hughes read his poems at the
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652:"Collection: Russell Atkins collection | Archives Research Center"
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The Stuart A. Rose
Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library at
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Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland State University Poetry Center (1976).
448:"Best Thing I've Read This Week: Russell Atkins - Vouched Books"
150:(1976), which is Atkins' only full-length poetry collection.
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Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library,
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Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
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Russell Atkins: On the life and work of an American master
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Russell Atkins: On the Life and Work of an American Master
532:"World'd Too Much: The Selected Poetry of Russell Atkins"
305:, pp. 112-115. Greenwood Publishing Group, Westport CT.
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507:"Cleveland Poet Russell Atkins Modest About Arts Prize"
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World'd Too Much: The Selected Poetry of Russell Atkins
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Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center
400:"Development, Planning & Sustainability Meeting"
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479:, September 23, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
84:Atkins died on August 15, 2024, at the age of 98.
16:American poet, playwright and composer (1926–2024)
814:21st-century American dramatists and playwrights
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198:holds the Russell Atkins collection, 1969–1997.
353:Belt Magazine - Dispatches From The Rust Belt
62:debuted in 1954. Following this, he founded
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331:. Warrensburg, Mo.: Pleiades Press (2013).
709:African-American dramatists and playwrights
238:. Cleveland Public Library. 3 February 2017
26:, known primarily for his contributions to
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64:Free Lance, A Magazine of Poetry and Prose
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426:"In Memoriam: Russell Atkins (1926–2024)"
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273:Metres, Philip (December 12, 2016).
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164:Case Western Reserve University
495:. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
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779:American male opera composers
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92:Atkins was one of the first
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809:21st-century American poets
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630:Russell Atkins collection
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259:Fleming, Robert, (2013).
774:American opera composers
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236:Ohio Center For The Book
49:Cleveland School of Art
789:Writers from Cleveland
714:African-American poets
471:Dunagan, P. J. (2013)
404:Cleveland City Council
378:City of Cleveland Ohio
126:Atkins' books include
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656:findingaids.auctr.edu
477:Your Impossible Voice
121:University of Chicago
167:the crumbling urban
111:Langston Hughes and
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154:Critical reception
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219:Here in The,
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217:Atkins, R.,
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612:Identifiers
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457:October 11,
358:October 11,
160:Here in The
148:Here in The
146:(1973) and
72:Black World
28:avant garde
683:Categories
565:2024-05-10
541:2020-04-22
516:January 3,
511:Ideastream
410:January 3,
384:January 3,
284:January 3,
242:January 3,
202:References
169:cityscapes
136:Heretofore
76:Free Lance
60:The Corpse
54:His plays
432:22 August
325:K. Prufer
187:In 2019,
144:Objects 2
140:Maleficum
128:Phenomena
35:Biography
593:Location
142:(1971),
138:(1968),
134:(1963),
130:(1961),
119:and the
327:(ed.),
132:Objects
670:Papers
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47:, and
88:Works
663:2018
518:2019
459:2014
434:2024
412:2019
386:2019
360:2014
333:ISBN
307:ISBN
286:2019
244:2019
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.