W.Va. poet laureate Irene McKinney dies at 72
Irene McKinney, who returned to her native West Virginia and served as the state's poet laureate for nearly two decades, died Saturday morning at the age of 72.
McKinney, who was also the director of the creative writing program at West Virginia Wesleyan College, wrote "lyrical poetry [that] is steeped in the rural Appalachian landscape and frequently explores the connections between people and place," according to her biography on the Poetry Foundation's website.