CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- A University of Virginia professor has received the prestigious $10,000 Rilke award for her poetry collection on what it means to be Black in America.

"'White Blood, a Lyric of Virginia' is about the legacies of racism and the era of enslavement in the upper South," Kiki Petrosino said. 

The poetry was inspired by her late grandmother who lived in Louisa County. 

"The project started after the death of my grandmother who was my last living grandparent. I realized if I wanted to learn more about her life, which had a lot to do with Louisa County and Central Virginia, I would have to do research," said Petrosino. "I went to Louisa and did research on her life and family."

Petrosino says she was surprised to learn she won the Rilke Award, an annual award for literature that demonstrates exceptional art.

"I was so delighted and surprised," she said. "As a poet, you put work out there and hope it will resonate with an audience."

"White Blood, a Lyric of Virginia" can be purchased at New Dominion Bookshop on the Downtown Mall, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble.