Pulitzer-winning poet Claudia Emerson dies

RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Pulitzer-prize winning poet Claudia Emerson, who served as the poet laureate of Virginia, has died. She was 57.

Emerson was awarded the Pulitzer in 2006 for her collection "Late Wife," which detailed the end of her first marriage and the beginning of her second. She was well known for her body of work, with collections that include "Pharaoh, Pharaoh," "Pinion: An Elegy," "Secure the Shadow," and "Figure Studies."

Emerson was named Virginia's poet laureate, an honorary title, in 2008. In 2013, she joined Virginia Commonwealth University as a professor.

"Claudia Emerson was more than the sum of her many prestigious awards, including the Pulitzer Prize," said Kathy Bassard, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of English. "She was simply the most alive, gracious and courageous human being I have ever met. Incredibly funny and down to earth, she lived and loved life to the fullest."

Over the years, she was awarded several fellowships, including a prestigious Guggenheim fellowship in 2011. Her collection of poetry "The Opposite House" is scheduled to be released in 2015.