Poetry News

Congratulations Kamau Brathwaite: Winner of the Poetry Society of America's 2015 Frost Medal!

Originally Published: March 03, 2015

Yesterday, The Poetry Society of America announced that Kamau Brathwaite is recipient of this year's Frost Medal. PSA's Frost Medal is its the greatest honor: "presented annually for distinguished lifetime achievement in poetry." Born in 1930 in Barbados, today, Brathwaite is a leading voice in Caribbean literature. From The Poetry Society of America:

The Poetry Society of America is honored to announce that Kamau Brathwaite is the 2015 recipient of the organization's highest award, the Frost Medal, presented annually for distinguished lifetime achievement in poetry. Previous winners of this award include Wallace Stevens, Marianne Moore, Gwendolyn Brooks, Allen Ginsberg, Lucille Clifton, Charles Simic, Marilyn Nelson, and Gerald Stern, the 2014 recipient.

Kamau Brathwaite was born in Bridgetown, Barbados, in 1930. He studied at Harrison College in Barbados, graduated with honors from Pembroke College, Cambridge, England, and received his Ph.D. from the University of Sussex. He is the author of numerous books of poetry include Elegguas (Wesleyan University Press, 2010), Born to Slow Horses (2005), Ancestors (New Directions, 2001), Words Need Love Too (2000), Black + Blues (1995), Roots 1993), and Trenchtown Rock (1993), among others. He has taught at Harvard University, and New York University, the University of the West Indies, as well as serving in Ghana's Ministry of Education.

The 2015 Annual Awards ceremony, which will honor Kamau Brathwaite and celebrate the winners of the Poetry Society of America's 10 other annual awards, will take place on Thursday, April 16th at 7:00 pm at the National Arts Club. [...]

Learn more at Poetry Society of America.