Atkins, Russell R 25.feb.1926- USA Ohio, Cleveland
pianist, poet, playwright, writer, of african descent, raised by his mother Minnie, his grandmother and his aunt Willie Mae Wellborn after his father deserted the family, 1933 studied piano with his mother, studied music at Cleveland Music School Settlement, Cleveland Institute of Music and privately, among his piano teachers were Murray Adams, J Harold Brown, Russell and Rowena Jelliffe and Walter Anderson, 1976 he received an honorary doctorate from Cleveland State University, 2017 he was awarded the Cleveland Arts Prize for his lifetime achievement as poet