Awards

Award Winners

Individual Awards

2024

2024

Lyric Poetry Award

Repetition
S. Brook Corfman

Selected by Richie Hofmann

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

Crossing
C. Rees

Finalist

Elizabeth Scanlon

Selected by Kathy Fagan

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

Paying Old Hopes
Cindy Juyoung Ok

Selected by Sandra Lim

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

ode to nas, ode to the cousin the cousin of death
Trace Howard DePass

Finalists

Brian Blanchfield

Andrea Jurjević

Claire Wahmanholm

Selected by Tawanda Mulalu

George Bogin Memorial Award

My Life to Live
Matt Flores

Selected by Claire Schwartz

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

Photograph, Mueller Family, Philippines, ca. 1906-1907
José Edmundo Ocampo Reyes

Selected by Nathan McClain

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

from DORA
Jenni(f)fer Tamayo

Selected by Lucy Ives

2023

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

Salt for the Table, Steam for the Air
David Gorin

Selected by Hadara Bar-Nadav

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

Three Odes
Jane Huffman

Selected by Natalie Shapero

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

Danse Printemps et Quarantaine
Iain Haley Pollock

Finalists

Deborah Paredez

Paul Tran

Selected by Wayne Miller

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

Calder
D.S. Waldman

Selected by Jennifer Elise Foerster

George Bogin Memorial Award

Standing in Line at the Protest
Tom Thompson

Finalist

Katie Farris

Selected by Atsuro Riley

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

Oracle
Trey Moody

Selected by Nuar Alsadir

Lyric Poetry Award

From the Blue Dusk Suddenly
Casey Thayer

Selected by Sherwin Bitsui

2022

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

The Divide
Gale Marie Thompson

Finalists

Nicholas Gulig

A.D. Lauren-Abunassar

Selected by Jenny Xie

George Bogin Memorial Award

Naming the Silences in the Mouth
Ina Cariño

Selected by Mai Der Vang

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

Two Mule Deer
Didi Jackson

Finalist

Andrea Jurjević

Selected by Traci Brimhall

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

Walk on the Cliff at Pourville
Allison Benis White

Selected by Cameron Awkward-Rich

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

The Sea Letters
Romeo Oriogun

Finalists

Deborah Landau

Joy Priest

Alina Stefanescu

Selected by Major Jackson

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

Ultramarine
Amy Dryansky

Selected by Ana Castillo

Lyric Poetry Award

Snow
Armen Davoudian

Selected by Solmaz Sharif

2021

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

A Brief Eschatological Investigation
Erika Meitner

Selected by Martha Collins

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

Noise Cancelling
Devon Walker-Figueroa

Selected by Amit Majmudar

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

Moon. Eleanor Eleanor. Oil on canvas. 2018
Kathryn Cowles

Selected by Elisa Gabbert

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

Milk
Meredith Stricker

Selected by Deborah Paredez

George Bogin Memorial Award

Psalm
Natalie Eilbert

Selected by Shane McCrae

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

Little Deprivation in the Big North Woods
Melissa Crowe

Selected by Heid E. Erdrich

Lyric Poetry Award

Yeet the Rich
Marcus Wicker

Finalist

Janine Joseph

Selected by Camonghne Felix

2020

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

Oak
Atsuro Riley

Finalists

Chloe Honum

Andrew Seguin

Selected by Julie Carr

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

The Goddess of Cleaning
Teri Ellen Cross Davis

Selected by Ray Gonzalez

George Bogin Memorial Award

an excerpt from To Red Dust (II)
JinJin Xu

Finalists

Teri Ellen Cross Davis

Julia Guez

Helena Mesa

Elizabeth Scanlon

Selected by Carrie Fountain

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

Reading Emily Dickinson in Amherst Massachusetts
David Keplinger

Selected by Jos Charles

Lyric Poetry Award

The Empire of Light
Michael Dumanis

Selected by Hanif Abdurraqib

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

Migration Patterns
Melissa Studdard

Selected by Ruth Ellen Kocher

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

Doctrine of Signatures
Traci Brimhall

Finalists

Tyler Mills

JinJin Xu

Selected by Sally Wen Mao

2019

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

Housework
Sarah Gridley

Finalists

Hadara Bar-Nadav

James Davis May

Selected by Paula Bohince

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

CURRICULUM
Ari Banias

Finalists

Adam O. Davis

Heather Green

Selected by Kevin Killian

Lyric Poetry Award

At Times My Body Leans Toward Loss
Kelli Russell Agodon

Finalist

Michael Dumanis

Selected by Ilya Kaminsky

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

The Rio Grande
Cecily Parks

Finalists

Michael Dumanis

M. Soledad Caballero

Selected by Rosa Alcalá

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

ORACLE
Ari Banias

Finalist

Atsuro Riley

Selected by Diane Seuss

George Bogin Memorial Award

ONCE, I PRAYED IN THE WATER
Sara Henning

Selected by Khaled Mattawa

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

Interstice
Nancy Chen Long

Selected by Patricia Spears Jones

2018

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

Mis/conception
Nickole Brown

Finalists

Rae Armantrout

Jacqueline Jones LaMon

selected by Lynn Melnick

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

The Depletions
Sarah Gridley

Finalists

Jenny Browne

Wayne Miller

Selected by Meena Alexander

Lyric Poetry Award

The Newspapers
Kevin Prufer

Finalists

Sandra Meek

James Richardson

Selected by Mark Wunderlich

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

Interior with a Woman Peeling Oranges, Snapping Beans
Molly Spencer

Finalists

Benjamin Paloff

Kevin Prufer

Selected by Maggie Smith

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

Obit
Victoria Chang

Finalists

Malachi Black

Deborah Landau

Atsuro Riley

Selected by Dean Rader

George Bogin Memorial Award

All Stars Are Lights, Not All Lights Are Stars
Brian Tierney

Finalists

Catherine Imbriglio

Cate Lycurgus

Selected by Daniel Borzutzky

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

Fourth of July
Elizabeth Knapp

Selected by Airea D. Matthews

2017

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

SILK NOR SAY
Bill Carty

Finalists

Julia Thacker

Jane Wong

Selected by Monica Youn

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

Ganymede
Jericho Brown

Finalists

Beth Bachmann

Rachel Zucker

Selected by Elizabeth Willis

Lyric Poetry Award

As a Human Being
Jericho Brown

Finalists

Catherine Imbriglio

Christina Pugh

Selected by Rachel Eliza Griffiths

George Bogin Memorial Award

Correspondence
Marie La Viña

Finalists

Beth Bachmann

Kai Carlson-Wee

Aidan Forster

Brian Tierney

Selected by Victoria Redel

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

Dress (Aurora Borealis)
Hadara Bar-Nadav

Selected by Francisco Aragón

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

REQUIEM
Jill Osier

Selected by Donald Revell

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

an excerpt from 903
Heather Altfeld

Finalists

Elizabeth Jacobson

Taije Silverman

Selected by Fred Marchant

2016

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

The Porch Roof's Sky Blue Ceiling
Kathleen Winter

Selected by Carmen Giménez Smith

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

Ed Smith
James Davis May

Selected by Laura Kasischke

Lyric Poetry Award

Devotional (after a Muslim Prayer)
Philip Metres

Selected by Rowan Ricardo Phillips

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

I Love You More than All the Windows in New York City
Jessica Greenbaum

Finalists

Michael Dumanis

James Haug

Selected by Elaine Equi

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

Heritage
Kaveh Akbar

Selected by Yona Harvey

George Bogin Memorial Award

The Bell System
Adam O. Davis

Finalists

Shara Lessley

Purvi Shah

Selected by Eduardo C. Corral

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

Erin Redfern

Metta Sáma

2015

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

Wretches
Bridget Lowe

Finalists

Stephanie Ford

Katy Lederer

Selected by Dana Levin

George Bogin Memorial Award

American Self-Portrait
Dean Rader

Finalists

Nina Puro

Diana Khoi Nguyen

Selected by Stephanie Burt

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

Watch
James Richardson

Finalists

Kevin Prufer

Anna Ross

Chase Twichell

Selected by Jim Moore

Lyric Poetry Award

On Sundays
Julia Alvarez

Selected by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

Look for Raven Pairs Flying in a Pre-Mating Ritual
Karen Skolfield

Finalists

J. C. Todd

Jonathan Weinert

Selected by Alan Shapiro

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

Orycteropus afer (Antbear), Kalahari
Sandra Meek

Finalists

Adam O. Davis

Sara Henning

Selected by Fady Joudah

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

The People Who Feel No Pain
Jenny Browne

Finalists

Dean Rader

Rob Schlegel

Mitchell Untch

Selected by Rachel Zucker

2014

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

On Pockets
Ari Banias

Finalists

Jared Stanley

Lee Upton

Selected by A. E. Stallings

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

Wild Asparagus
David Welch

Finalists

Janet McAdams

G. C. Waldrep

Selected by Jericho Brown

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

Hickey
Dore Kiesselbach

Finalists

Philip Metres

Sara Miller

Selected by Alberto Rios

George Bogin Memorial Award

We grew up hearing war stories
Gary Young

Finalists

Meena Alexander

Jane Wong

Selected by Jessica Greenbaum

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

Traveler
Timothy Donnelly

Finalists

Shane Book

Katy Lederer

Dana Levin

Selected by Erin Belieu

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

Death is Death
Tom Thompson

Finalists

Meghan Kemp-Gee

Leslie Williams

Selected by Dan Beachy-Quick

Lyric Poetry Award

Pantoum
Meghan Kemp-Gee

Finalists

Kathryn Cowles

Phillis Levin

Selected by John Koethe

2013

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

Greg Wrenn

Finalists

Heather Cousins

Jacquelyn Pope

Selected by Brian Teare

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

Vikings Did Not Have Horns On Their Helmets
Ted Mathys

Selected by Alice Notely

Lyric Poetry Award

Poem Half Aubade Half Nocturne
Micah Bateman

Finalists

Bruce Bond

Andrea Carter Brown

Selected by Carolyne Wright

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

Because I didn't speak Japanese
Gary Young

Finalists

Bruce Bond

Diana Khoi Nguyen

Selected by Patricia Smith

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

Sweet Insurgent
Elyse Fenton

Finalists

Lia Purpura

Selected by Kevin Prufer

George Bogin Memorial Award

The Lady and the Unicorn
Paula Bohince

Finalists

Jamaal May

Lucy Ricciardi

Selected by Cate Marvin

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

HERTZSPRUNG-RUSSELL
Carol Light

Finalist

C. E. Perry

Selected by David Wagoner

2012

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

Fly
Jennifer Maier

Selected by Phillip Levin

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

Socket
Lily Brown

Finalists

Wayne Miller

Selected by Zachary Schomburg

Lyric Poetry Award

Shadow Puppets
Greg Wrenn

Finalists

Justin Boening

Diana Khoi Nguyen

Selected by Matthew Dickman

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

Suji Kwock Kim

Finalist

Selected by Ilya Kaminsky

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

A GROUNDING FOR THE METAPHYSICS OF MORALS
Jehanne Dubrow

Finalists

Sophie Cabot Black

Wayne Miller

Kevin Prufer

Selected by Claudia Rankine

George Bogin Memorial Award

Suji Kwock Kim

Finalists

Rebecca Morgan Frank

Mary Morris

Selected by Evie Shockley

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl
Lise Goett

Selected by Toi Derricotte

2011

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

LARCENY—LEGACY—
Eva Heisler

Finalists

Sara Henning

Dawn Lonsinger

Selected by H.L. Hix

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

THE CENTER OF WORTHWHILE THINGS
Darcie Dennigan

Finalists

Heather Green

Peter Jay Shippy

Selected by Susan Wheeler

Lyric Poetry Award

THE GUITAR
Patrick Phillips

Finalists

David Roderick

Leslie Williams

Selected by Deborah Garrison

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

THE BOOK OF MATTHEW
Kerri Webster

Selected by Nikky Finney

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

muse of arms
Beth Bachmann

Finalists

Lily Brown

Liz Countryman

Allison Benis White

Selected by Elizabeth Willis

George Bogin Memorial Award

AT THE IMPERIAL PALACE
Suji Kwock Kim

Finalists

Hadara Bar-Nadav

Rebecca Morgan Frank

Leslie Williams

Selected by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

IN THE BEGINNING
Kathy Nilsson

Selected by Timothy Donnelly

2010

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

LOVE CONTINUES IN THE BODY
Marlene Rosen Fine

Selected by Marie Ponsot

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

FROM SESTINALA
Karla Kelsey

Selected by Forrest Gander

Lyric Poetry Award

LAMENT
Ira Sadoff

Selected by Meghan O'Rourke

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

SNOW WHIPPETS
Sandra Stone

Selected by Julian Felipe Herrera

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

JURAMENTADO
Rebecca Morgan Frank

Selected by Marilyn Hacker

George Bogin Memorial Award

Cochiti Lake, 1989
Sawnie Morris

Selected by Hettie Jones

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

IN ME AS THE SWANS
Leslie Williams

Selected by David St. John

2009

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

THE MISSING MAN
Richard Robbins

Selected by Graham Foust

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

FROM THE NINE SENSES
Melissa Kwasny

Selected by Mei-mei Berssenbrugge

Lyric Poetry Award

PARLIAMENT PASSES THE INCLOSING LANDS ACT, 1809
Susan Kinsolving

Selected by Lucie Brock-Broido

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

A PRAYER (O CITY— )
Wayne Miller

Selected by Elizabeth Alexander

George Bogin Memorial Award

ASSEMBLED FROM THE SCRIPT: BATAILLE
Rusty Morrison

Selected by John Yau

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

THE TAILOR OF AL HAMDANIYAH
Eliot Khalil Wilson

Selected by Henri Cole

2008

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

LIGHTNING EASED: DREAM
Joanie Mackowski

Selected by Donald Revell

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

Moth Ark
Brian Henry

Selected by Norma Cole

Lyric Poetry Award

[THE CHILD"S CRY IS A LIGHT THAT COMES ON IN THE HOUSE,]
Wayne Miller

Selected by Elizabeth Macklin

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

I AND THOU
Christina Pugh

Selected by Timothy Donnelly

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

H

Selected by Dean Young

George Bogin Memorial Award

WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET
Theresa Sotto

Selected by Prageeta Sharma

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

THE BEAN FIELD
Jocelyn Emerson

Selected by Annie Finch

2007

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

NORTHWEST PASSAGE
James Richardson

Selected by Matthea Harvey

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

FROM JOURNAL: RAI'UT COMA WARD, TEL AVIV-YAFFO, JULY 2003
Yerra Sugarman

Selected by Michael Palmer

Lyric Poetry Award

PIER LIFE
Ed Skoog

Selected by Srikanth Reddy

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

AMERICAN NOCTURNE
Wayne Miller

Selected by Tracy K. Smith

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

PLEASE ADVICE STOP
Rusty Morrison

Selected by Susan Howe

George Bogin Memorial Award

THE ASSASSINATION LECTURE
Wayne Miller

Selected by Eleni Sikelianos

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

FRANKENSTEIN'S FLOWERS
Charlene Fix

Selected by Eleanor Wilner

2006

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

In The Anatomical Museum
Nicole Cooley

Selected by Gerald Stern

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

FROM SKY CLUTCHES ANY STRONG BEAT
Rusty Morrison

Selected by Cal Bedient

Lyric Poetry Award

VALLE D'AOSTA
Alice Jones

Selected by Toi Derricotte

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

RECOVERY
Lynn Knight

Selected by Grace Schulman

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

WHO IS JOSQUIN DES PREZ
G. C. Waldrep

Selected by Forrest Gander

George Bogin Memorial Award

NATIONAL ANTHEM
Kevin Prufer

Selected by Marie Howe

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

FROM CYCLORAMA
Daneen Wardrop

Selected by Jean Valentine

2005

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

DICKINSON'S DAY LILIES
Lee Upton

Selected by Mark Doty

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

Every Apple, Every Dreamer, Every Prime
G. C. Waldrep

Selected by Alice Notley

Lyric Poetry Award

AND THOUGH SHE BE BUT LITTLE, SHE IS FIERCE
Lee Upton

Selected by Susan Wheeler

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

THE BOOK OF PROPS
Wayne Miller

Selected by Vijay Seshadri

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

ENCLOSURE
Mary Jo Bang

Selected by Fanny Howe

George Bogin Memorial Award

Battery Townsley
G. C. Waldrep

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

HATE POEM
Julie Sheehan

Selected by Sharon Olds

2004

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

LAMENTATION
Jason Schneiderman

Selected by Jane Mead

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

POSTCARDS FROM THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TABLE
Fritz Ward

Selected by Susan Stewart

Lyric Poetry Award

ascension in the initial v
Carol Ciavonne

Selected by D. A. Powell

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

DEAR SAPPHO
Wayne Miller

Selected by Terrance Hayes

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

TERROR
Chana Bloch

Selected by Jane Hirschfield

George Bogin Memorial Award

THE PASTOR
Kevin Prufer

Selected by Tory Dent

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

THE SHADOW BENEATH MY CORPSE IS ALWAYS
John McKernan

Selected by Linda Gregg

2003

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

BRAIN DEATH
Kevin Prufer

Selected by Marilyn Chin

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

WHY I PAINT CHAIRS
Lynn Veach Sadler

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

THE CAT
Alan Michael Parker

Selected by Katha Pollitt

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

QUARANTINE
Brian Henry

Selected by Caroline Knox

George Bogin Memorial Award

OLD GIRL: SELF-PORTRAIT IN WOOL
Susan Terris

Selected by Sonia Sanchez

2002

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

THE BEAUTY ZONE
Mary Ann Samyn

Selected by Alice Fulton

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

VIATICA 1
Andrew Zawacki

Selected by Wayne Koestenbaum

Lyric Poetry Award

BLUE SKIES
Shira Dentz

Selected by Mark Levine

Lucille Medwick Memorial Award

PICKING UP A JOB APPLICATION
Minne Bruce Pratt

Selected by Cornelius Eady

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

MASQUERADE
Andrew Zawacki

Selected by C. D. Wright

George Bogin Memorial Award

THE RISE OF ROME
Kevin Prufer

Selected by Jill Bialosky

Robert H. Winner Memorial Award

THIS SENTENCE
Margo Berdeshevsky

Selected by Marie Ponsot

2001

The Writer Magazine/Emily Dickinson Award

EVE SPEAKS
Jan Heller Levi

Cecil Hemley Memorial Award

FLYING INFORMATION
Angie Estes

Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award

RHAPSODY
Angie Estes

HAND MIT RINGEN
Glori Simmons

George Bogin Memorial Award

THE POWER OF IN THE AGE OF
Brian Henry