 Irene McKinney

Irene McKinney (April 20, 1939 – February 4, 2012) was an American poet and editor, and served as the Poet Laureate of the state of West Virginia from her appointment by Governor Gaston Caperton in January 1994 until her death.Third oldest of her parents' (Ralph Durrett and Celia Phares Durrett) six children, Irene McKinney was born and grew up in Belington, 
Barbour County, WV on a 300-acre farm that had been in her family for generations.