Our final news round-up of the week takes a look at the poet Holly Prado who has passed away at the age of 81.

Poet, Holly Prado, Dies at 81

Holly Prado, a much-admired writer of fiction and poetry, who was also an educator who fought on behalf of what she saw as the under-recognised literary scene in Los Angeles, has passed away aged 81.

She passed away due to complications relating to an infection of the kidneys and sepsis. Her husband the poet and actor Harry Northup said she had been proofreading “Weather” her latest book.

Prado turned her back on the world of work early in life and instead began to follow her dreams in a more creative way. She started as a teacher before finally turning to fiction writing and poetry, she also worked as a mentor, assisting others to find the inspiration they needed to pen the written world.

She was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1938. Her parents were a manager in charge of newspaper circulation and a homemaker. She was just 10 when she penned her own poem drawing inspiration from the moon. Her mother was her main critic and persuaded her to continue writing. She died when the poet was just 16.

The family relocated to Michigan when Prado was a teenager and it was her in 1960 that she received her degree. Following her graduation, she went to LA where she began working in the office of a lawyer. It was at this point that she chose to consider a career in teaching.

She taught English in a high school for 8 years before leaving to commit more of her time to her own creative writing. For over 40 years she also taught creative writing in a private capacity. Over time she became a key member of the literary movement of the city and regularly gave readings of poetry and attended literary events.

Unfortunately, she became disillusioned with the poetry scene in Los Angeles and ones again returned to teaching, where she was a huge influence on many of her students.

She published a number of novels, but it was her poetry that she was more well known for. “Feasts” – her first collection of poetry – was released in1976. Harry Northup was said to have fallen in love with her because of her work. They met in 1977 and in 1990 they were married.

Prado went on to publish a number of other poetry books over the years and both her prose and poetry appeared in a number of publications including the Paris Review. She also penned book reviews during the 1970s and ‘80s for The Times.

In 1999 Prado was named as the winner of the L.A. Poetry Award ‘Fin de Millennium’. In 2002 she won a competition named the Sense of Site Poetry, which was awarded by LA’s Cultural Affairs Department in partnership with the Durfee Foundation.

It wasn’t until 2006, when she had spent 35 as a part of the Los Angles literary scene that she was presented with a recognition of all the work that she had achieved to help promote literature in the area.