UNC English professor, renowned author Randall Kenan dies at 57

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- Randall Kenan, an author whose stories explored the experience of being Black and gay in the American South, has died. He was 57.

The University of North Carolina, where he taught as an English professor, confirmed his death Saturday. A cause was not immediately available.

"We lost an incredible friend, colleague, mentor, professor & literary giant. Our collective hearts are aching with grief at the loss of Professor Randall Kenan," the official Twitter of English & Comparative Literature at UNC wrote.

Kenan grew up in North Carolina and attended UNC as well, receiving his undergraduate degree in 1985.

His 1992 collection of short stories set in the fictional town of Tim's Creek, North Carolina, Let the Dead Bury Their Dead, received critical acclaim.

He also wrote a young adult biography of author James Baldwin.