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2015 SESSION
15102921DWHEREAS, Claudia Emerson, former Poet Laureate of Virginia and the 2006 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, died on December 4, 2014; and
WHEREAS, a native of Chatham, Claudia Emerson managed a used-book store early in her career and was a part-time letter carrier; the scenery on the 86-mile mail route through rural southern Virginia helped inspire her to write poetry; and
WHEREAS, Claudia Emerson was educated at Chatham Hall and received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia in 1979; she also studied at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she earned a master’s degree; and
WHEREAS, Claudia Emerson taught at the University of Mary Washington starting in 1998; in 2013 she joined the faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University; throughout her time in the classroom, she had a passion and love for teaching and helping her students grow; and
WHEREAS, in 2006, 10 years after publishing her first book of poetry, Claudia Emerson won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for Late Wife, a collection that examined the complexities of marriage, divorce, and death; and
WHEREAS, Claudia Emerson was named Poet Laureate of Virginia in 2008; she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2011 and received fellowships from the Library of Congress, the Virginia Commission for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts; and
WHEREAS, Claudia Emerson is the author of five collections of poetry in addition to Late Wife, the last of which is to be published posthumously; she also published works in magazines and journals, including the New Yorker and Poetry magazine; and
WHEREAS, Claudia Emerson, who was predeceased by her father and brother, is survived by her husband, Kent Ippolito; her mother, Mollie; and many other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Claudia Emerson, former Poet Laureate of Virginia and the 2006 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Claudia Emerson as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for her memory.