Poetry News

National Book Awards Longlist for Poetry Announced

Originally Published: September 18, 2019

Today, the National Book Foundation announced the longlist for the 2019 National Book Awards in Poetry. Ten titles make up this year's list, with the majority of those recognized making their first appearance for the award. More on that point from the NBF:

As was the case in 2018, the majority of the poets on the 2019 Longlist are newcomers to the National Book Awards. The exceptions are Jericho Brown and Arthur Sze, who were Poetry Judges in 2016 and 1999, respectively, and Toi Derricotte, who received the National Book Foundation’s 2016 Literarian Award for her work with Cave Canem. Three of the poets have won Whiting Awards, and four have received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. Other prizes that have recognized the ten Longlisted poets include the Lambda Literary Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, the Paterson Poetry Prize, and the Pushcart Prize. The Longlisted poets have also received fellowships from Cave Canem, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, the MacDowell Colony, the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, and Poets House. All ten of the books come from independent publishers, and this is the first time publishers Wave Books and Tin House Books have been Longlisted for a National Book Award. The list features poets in all stages of their careers, including one debut.

And now the list you've been waiting for!

2019 LONGLIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR POETRY:

Dan Beachy-Quick, Variations on Dawn and Dusk
Omnidawn Publishing

Jericho Brown, The Tradition
Copper Canyon Press

Toi Derricotte, “I”: New and Selected Poems
University of Pittsburgh Press

Camonghne Felix, Build Yourself a Boat
Haymarket Books

Ilya Kaminsky, Deaf Republic
Graywolf Press

Ariana Reines, A Sand Book
Tin House Books

Mary Ruefle, Dunce
Wave Books

Carmen Giménez Smith, Be Recorder
Graywolf Press

Arthur Sze, Sight Lines
Copper Canyon Press

Brian Teare, Doomstead Days
Nightboat Books

Read more about the award and the poets at the National Book Foundation.