Writer, poet of Black women's experences, bell hooks, dead at 69

Writer, poet of Black women's experences, bell hooks, dead at 69.

Black feminist writer and poet, bell hooks, died Wednesday at her home in Berea, Kentucky, at the age of 69, according to a statement from her family.

Born Gloria Jean Watkins on Sept. 25, 1952 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Watkins published under the pseudonym "bell hooks" -- a name inspired by her great-grandmother, Bell Blair Hooks -- to keep focus on her work and ideas rather than on her identity, she said in an interview with The Sandspur in 2013.

Watkins had been fighting an illness and died with family and friends at her side, the family said.

"The family is honored that Gloria received numerous awards, honors, and international fame for her works as a poet, author, feminist, professor, cultural critic, and social activist. We are proud to just call her sister, friend, confidant, and influencer," her family said in their statement.