National Book Critics Circle Award Winners Announced!

The National Book Critics Circle Award winners were announced at a ceremony in New York last night; and to our delight, Claudia Rankine has won the poetry award for Citizen, reports the LA Times. Another notable win was the Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award, given to Toni Morrison. More:

Claremont poet Rankine won the poetry award for "Citizen," a collection that reflects on racism, community and American identity. Rankine was also nominated in the criticism category for the volume, marking the first time in the history of the awards that a book was a finalist in two different categories.

In an interview with Times critic David L. Ulin, Rankine noted, "It always surprises me when people say that the realm of the lyric is the personal and the personal is not political. I just don't know how we can get to 2014 and say that with a straight face."

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The National Book Critics Circle has more than 700 members. The award finalists and winners are selected by the group's board of directors (which includes Times staff writer Carolyn Kellogg).