Hettie Jones, publisher, educator and award-winning poet and former wife of Amiri Baraka, dies at 90

AP National Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Hettie Jones, an award-winning poet, publisher and children’s book author who was the first wife and early muse of the author-activist Amiri Baraka, has died at age 90. A statement released by her family says she died Tuesday. Jones was married to Baraka when he was LeRoi Jones and he would dedicate his first poetry collection to her. After they divorced, she wrote poetry, children’s books and the memoir “How I Became Hettie Jones.” She taught at the New School and the 92nd Street Y Poetry Center, served on PEN America’s prison writing committee and ran a writing workshop at the New York State Correctional Facility for Women.