Prizes
xSeveral prizes are awarded annually for the best work printed in Poetry during the preceding year. Only poems already published in the magazine are eligible for consideration, and no formal application is necessary. The winners are announced in the November issue. Following the prize descriptions is a complete list of past prizewinners.
The Poetry Foundation also administers the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize and the Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowships.
The Levinson Prize, presented annually since 1914 through the generosity of the late Salmon O. Levinson and his family, for the sum of $500, is awarded to Ron Silliman for his poem in the June 2010 issue. Silliman is the author, co-author, and/or editor of 38 books, including The Alphabet (University of Alabama Press, 2008) and The Age of Huts (compleat) (University of California Press, 2007). He previously appeared in Poetry in January 1969.
The Bess Hokin Prize, established in 1948 through the generosity of our late friend and guarantor, Mrs. David Hokin, for the sum of $1000, is awarded to Valzhyna Mort for her poems in the December 2009 issue. Born in Minsk, Belarus, Mort’s American debut was Factory of Tears (Copper Canyon Press, 2008). She is currently a writer-in-residence at the University of Baltimore.
The Frederick Bock Prize, founded in 1981 by friends in memory of the former associate editor of Poetry, for the sum of $500, is awarded to Paul Hoover for his poems in the June 2010 issue. Hoover’s most recent publications are Sonnet 56 (Les Figues Press, 2009); Beyond the Court Gate: Selected Poems of Nguyen Trai (Counterpath Press, 2010), edited and translated with Nguyen Do; and Selected Poems of Friedrich Hölderlin (Omnidawn Publishing, 2008), winner of the PEN-USA Translation Award, edited and translated with Maxine Chernoff.
The J. Howard and Barbara M.J. Wood Prize, endowed since 1994, in the sum of $5000, is awarded to Dorothea Grossman for her poems in the March 2010 issue. Grossman’s 2003 CD, Call And Response (pfMentum) features the poet in live performance with improvising trombonist Michael Vlatkovich.
The John Frederick Nims Memorial Prize For Translation, established in 1999 by Bonnie Larkin Nims, trustees of the Poetry Foundation, and friends of the late poet, translator, and editor, in the amount of $500, is awarded to Laura Leichum for her translations of Gisela Kraft in the March 2010 issue. Leichum is a poet and translator living in Washington, DC. She recently completed her MFA in creative writing at the University of Maryland.
The Friends of Literature Prize, established in 2002 by the Friends of Literature, in the amount of $500, is awarded to Spencer Reece for his poems in the February and April 2010 issues. Reece is a postulant for Holy Orders in the Episcopal church. This past summer he worked as a seminarian in the orphanage of Our Little Roses in Honduras. His poem “The Clerk’s Tale” is currently being made into a short film by the actor James Franco.
The Editors Prize for Feature Article, established in 2005, in the amount of $1000, is awarded to Durs Grünbein for his essay in the February 2010 issue (translated by Michael Hofmann). Grünbein is the author of six volumes of poetry and a collection of essays.
The Editors Prize for Reviewing, established in 2004, in the amount of $1000, is awarded to Abigail Deutsch for her reviews in the May and September 2010 issues. Deutsch is a former Poetry Foundation writing fellow. Her criticism appears in the Los Angeles Times, the Village Voice, n+1, Bookforum, and other publications.
The Editors Prize for Best Letter, established in 2009, in the amount of $250, is awarded to Daniel Brett Clendening for his letter in the April 2010 issue.
Prizes are for poems and prose published during the past twelve months in volumes 193 and 194, October 2008 through September 2009.
Past Winners by Prize and Year
The Levinson Prize has been presented annually since 1914 through the generosity of the late Salmon O. Levinson and his family, and is now permanently endowed. Past winners include:
|
Carl Sandburg 1914 |
Dylan Thomas 1945 |
Judith Moffett 1976 |
The Bess Hokin Prize was established in 1947 through the generosity of our late friend and guarantor, Mrs. David Hokin, and is given annually in her memory. Past winners include:
|
William Abrahams 1948 |
Michael Benedikt 1968 |
Ralph Angel 1987 |
The Frederick Bock Prize was founded in 1981 by friends of the late former Associate Editor of Poetry. Past winners include:
|
John N. Morris 1981 |
J. Allyn Rosser 1989 |
Andrew Hudgins 1997 |
The Union League Civic and Arts Poetry Prize for a young poet was presented annually from 1951 to 1972, and re-established in 1993 to 2006, through the generosity of the Union League Civic & Arts Foundation. Past winners include:
|
Horace Gregory 1951 |
William Jay Smith 1963 |
Neal Bowers 1995 |
The J. Howard and Barbara M. J. Wood Prize is presented annually and endowed since 1994 through the generosity of Mrs. Wood. Past winners include:
|
Rebecca McClanahan 1994 |
Robert Wrigley 1998 |
Stephen Dobyns 2002 |
The John Frederick Nims Memorial Prize for translation work is permanently endowed through a fund established by Bonnie Larkin Nims, Trustees of The Poetry Foundation, and friends of the late poet, translator, and Editor of Poetry. Past winners include:
Rita Dove and Fred Viebahn 1999
Andrew Shields 2000
Marilyn Hacker 2001
Eavan Boland 2002
Reginald Gibbons and Charles Segal 2003
Sherod Santos 2004
Clare Cavanagh 2005
Geoffrey Brock 2006
Michael Hofmann 2007
Philip Nikolayev 2008
Susanna Nied 2009
Laura Leichum 2010
The Friends of Literature Prize was established in 2002 by The Friends of Literature, founded in Chicago in 1934 to study literature and to honor those who create it. Past winners include:
Gregory Djanikian 2002
Susan Kinsolving 2003
Ralph Sneeden 2004
Nance Van Winckel 2005
Dana Levin 2006
Todd Hearon 2007
Leila Wilson 2008
Sandra Beasley 2009
Spencer Reece 2010
The Editors Prize for Criticism was established in 2004 by the Poetry Foundation.
Michael Hofmann 2004
Editors Prize for Feature Article was established in 2005 by the Poetry Foundation.
Mary Kinzie 2005
Tony Hoagland 2006
Clive James 2007
Vivian Gornick 2008
Daisy Fried 2009
Durs Grünbein 2010
Editors Prize for Book Reviewing was established in 2005 by the Poetry Foundation.
D.H. Tracy 2005
David Orr 2006
Brian Phillips 2007
Ange Mlinko 2008
Jason Guriel 2009
Abigail Deutsch 2010
The Editors Prize for Best Letter was established in 2009 by the Poetry Foundation.
Reagan Upshaw 2009
Daniel Brett Clendening 2010
