April 3, 2008—Graywolf Press is delighted to announce that poet Tony Hoagland has been selected by Poets & Writers Inc to receive the second annual Jackson Poetry Prize. The $50,000 prize honors an American poet of exceptional talent who has published at least one book of recognized literary merit but has not yet received major national acclaim. The award is designed to provide what all poets need – time and the encouragement to write.
The Jackson Poetry Prize, sponsored by Poets & Writers Inc was made possible by a significant donation from the Liana Foundation and named for the John and Susan Jackson family. The award is designed to provide what all poets need: time and the encouragement to write. Judges for the prize were Philip Levine, Robert Pinsky, and Ellen Bryant Voigt. Last year’s winner was Elizabeth Alexander, also published by Graywolf Press.

“It’s hard to imagine any aspect of contemporary American life that couldn’t make its way into the writing of Tony Hoagland or a word in common or formal usage he would shy away from. He is a poet of risk: he risks wild laughter in poems that are totally heartfelt, poems you want to read out loud to anyone who needs to know the score and even more so to those who think they know the score. The framework of his writing is immense, almost as large as the tarnished nation he wandered into under the star of poetry.” said the judges for the prize.

Tony Hoagland is the author of What Narcissism Means to Me (Graywolf Press, 2003), Donkey Gospel (Graywolf Press, 1998), winner of the 1997 James Laughlin Award of The Academy of American Poets, and Sweet Ruin, winner of the Brittingham Prize in Poetry. He teaches at the University of Houston.

Poets & Writers, Inc. is the nation’s largest nonprofit literary organization serving creative writers. Since its founding in 1970, its mission has been to foster the professional development of poets and writers, to promote communications throughout the U.S. literary community, and to help create an environment in which literature can be appreciated by the widest possible public. Poets & Writers accomplishes this by publishing Poets & Writers Magazine, producing Poets & Writers Online, offering publishing information and an online Directory of Writers, introducing emerging writers outside of New York to the New York City literary community, and supporting writers participating in public literary events through the Readings/Workshops Program.

Graywolf Press is an independent, not-for-profit publisher dedicated to the creation and promotion of thoughtful and imaginative contemporary literature essential to a vital and diverse culture. The Press has published significant books of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and translations for over thirty years, and has become one of the leading literary publishers in the country. Poetry has always remained at the heart of the Press. For more information, please visit our web site: www.graywolfpress.org.

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