Poetry News

Welcome to the poetry news section. Here you will find the latest news about poets, poetry prizes, poet laureates and more.

U.S. Postal Service Honors Shel Silverstein With Forever Stamp (2022-08-05): The U.S. Postal Service honored Shel Silverstein with a postage stamp. The stamp features his work The Giving Tree.

Amanda Gorman Delivers Powerful Inaugural Poem, The Hill We Climb (2021-01-21): Amanda Gorman delivered her inaugural poem, The Hill We Climb, at President Joe Biden's inauguration.

Louise Gluck Awarded Nobel Prize in Literature for 2020 (2020-10-08): American poet Louise Gluck is the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2020. The award was presented by Mats Malm.

Cats Film Could Boost Interest in T.S. Eliot's Poetry Despite Box Office Losses (2020-01-04): The new Cats movie is not a box office success but it should still help generate new interest in T.S. Eliot's cat poetry, including his Practical Cats collection.

Beowulf Epic Poem Has a Single Author Say Researchers (2019-04-14): Researchers say Beowulf had a single author after conducting a study using stylometry.

Hailee Steinfeld Stars in Emily Dickinson Sitcom. Trailer Released. (2018-05-30): Actress and singer Hailee Steinfeld will play Emily Dickinson in Dickinson, a series for Apple's streaming service.

John Yau Wins 2018 Jackson Poetry Prize (2018-05-14): John Yau is the winner of the 2018 Jackson Poetry Prize. The $60,000 prize is awarded by Poets & Writers.

How Many Words is That? (2018-04-16): Find out word counts for different types of writing from tweets to novels including short stories, fiction, novels and more.

Jorie Graham Wins the 2017 Wallace Stevens Award (2017-09-02): Jorie Graham has won the Wallace Stevens Award. The award carries a stiped of $100,000.

Boston Poets Launch City of Notions, Boston's First Anthology of Poetry (2017-07-29): Boston poets have collaborated on the city's first anthology of poetry. It is called City of Notions.

Shel Silverstein's Runny Babbit Returns to be Published in September 2017 (2017-03-20): A never-before-published book of children's poems by Shel Silverstein will be published in September, 2017 by HarperCollins.

2016 Costa Book Awards Category Winners Announced (2017-01-04): The category winners of the 2016 Costa Book Awards have been announced.

Bob Dylan Wins Nobel Prize for Literature (2016-10-13): The literary community was shocked today to learn that singer songwriter Bob Dylan just won the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Committee knows the choice was controversial.

Finalists for the 2016 National Book Awards Announced (2016-10-10): Finalists for the 2016 National Book Awards were announced. Colson Whitehead and Jacqueline Woodson lead the fiction category.

Kanye West Writes a Poem About McDonald's French Fries for Frank Ocean's New Art Magazine (2016-09-03): Kanye West wrote a poem about McDonald's french fries for Frank Ocean's new art magazine Boys Don't Cry.

PEN America Announces New $50,000 PEN/Nabokov Award (2016-08-14): Pen America announces the return of the PEN/Nabokov Award, with an international twist to the literary prize. It carries a $50,000 cash purse.

U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera Pens Poem About Protests, Killings and Hope (2016-07-12): U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera has written a poem in remembrance of the deaths of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile and the five police officers gunned down in Dallas.

After Heated Debate, Dr. Maya Angelou Has New Jersey School Named After Her (2016-06-22): Dr. Maya Angelou will have an elementary school named after her in New Jersey after a heated battle over whether to name the school after her or President Obama.

Boston's Sidewalk Poetry Can Only Be Seen When it Rains (2016-05-24): A poetry project in Boston has created poems that only show up when it has rained.

Ed Roberson Wins 2016 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize (2016-05-23): Ed Roberson is the winner of the 2016 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. The award honors a U.S. poet for outstanding lifetime achievement.