Bennie Lee Sinclair

Bennie Lee Sinclair (April 15, 1939 – May 22, 2000) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She was named by Governor Richard Wilson Riley as the fifth South Carolina Poet Laureate from 1986 to 2000.

Biography

Early life and education Sinclair was born on April 15, 1939, in Greenville, South Carolina. She was born to William Graham Sinclair Sr., and the former Bennie Lee Ward. Her parents separated when she was five years old and she stayed with her mother. Sinclair graduated from Greenville High School in 1956 and then graduated from Furman University in 1961. She was elected as an alumna member of Phi Beta Kappa in 1989. Her brother Walt (Waldo Graham Sinclair Jr., nicknamed "Buster") Later, she returned to her alma mater and becoming a creative writing instructor at Furman University for many years. Her first poem as an adult was published in the journal Foxfire in 1968.

Poet laureateship Sinclair was named to be South Carolina's fifth poet laureate by Governor Dick Riley in 1986. At the time, she was the youngest poet laureate the state had appointed, at age 47. The poet laureate often reads and/or writes a poem for the South Carolina Governor's inauguration. In 1999, at the inauguration of Governor Jim Hodges, high winds blew her papers away, but she proceeded to recite the poem from memory. which they moved into in 1976. She died of an apparent heart attack on May 22, 2000, in Greenville, South Carolina. Her 1990 book of poetry, Lord of Spring, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

Other awards include:

Works Sinclair published works included a novel, short stories, and poetry: Little Chicago Suite (poetry, 1971) Taproots: A Study in Cultural Exploration, (as editor 1975) The Arrowhead Scholar (poetry, 1978) The Fine Arts Center Story: A Living History (as editor, 1980) South Carolina's International Greenville: A Guide (with Linda Shirley Robertson and Lori Storie-Pahlitzsch, 1982) Lord of Spring (poetry, 1990) The Endangered: New and Selected Poems (poetry, 1992) The Lynching (novel, 1992) Appalachian Trilogy (short stories)

In addition to her collections, some of her writings have been anthologized and have appeared in magazines and journals such as Foxfire, Ms., North American Review, and The South Carolina Review. In 1994, Sinclair composed the alma mater for Coastal Carolina University. The Bennie Lee Sinclair Papers, 1921-2007 are housed at Special Collections and Archives at Furman University.