Lucille Clifton

(1936 - 2010)

Poet Lucille Clifton was born with twelve fingers, a condition called polydactyly. She underwent surgery as an infant to have a finger amputated from each hand but later said she considered the extra digits to be a sign of mystical power in the women of her family. Clifton grew up near Buffalo, New York, and was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for poetry.