Lucille Clifton, Poet Who Explored Intricacies of Black Lives, Dies at 73

clipped from www.nytimes.com Lucille Clifton, Poet Who Explored Intricacies of Black Lives, Dies at 73 By MARGALIT FOX Lucille Clifton, a distinguished American poet whose work trained lenses wide and narrow on the experience of being black and female in the 20th century, exploring vast subjects like the indignities of history and intimate ones like the indignities of the body, died on Saturday in Baltimore. She was 73 and lived in Columbia, Md. The precise cause of death had not been determined, her sister, Elaine Philip, told The Associated Press on Sunday. Ms. Clifton, who had cancer, had been hospitalized recently with an infection. Enlarge This Image Mark Lennihan/Associated Press Lucille Clifton accepting a National Book Award in 2000. Ms. Clifton received a National Book Award in 2000 for “Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems, 1988-2000,” published by BOA Editions. Her book “Good Woman: Poems and a Memoir, 1969-1980” (BOA, 1987) was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 1988.