The National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry, established in 1975, is an annual American literary award presented by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English". Awards are presented annually to books published in the U.S. during the preceding calendar year in six categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Memoir/Autobiography, Biography, and Criticism.
Books previously published in English are not eligible, such as re-issues and paperback editions. They do consider "translations, short story and essay collections, self-published books, and any titles that fall under the general categories".
The judges are the volunteer directors of the NBCC, who are 24 members serving rotating three-year terms, with eight elected annually by the voting members, namely "professional book review editors and book reviewers". Winners of the awards are announced each year at the NBCC awards ceremony in conjunction with the yearly membership meeting, which takes place in March.
Recipients +National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry winners and finalistsYearAuthorTitleResult1975Self-portrait in a Convex MirrorWinner1976Geography IIIWinnerPhilip LevineThe Names of the Lost Muriel RukeyserThe Gates Louis SimpsonSearching for the OxRichard WilburThe Mind-Reader1977Day by DayWinnerJohn AshberyHouseboat DaysStanley PlumlyOut-of-the-Body Travel W.D. SnodgrassThe Fuhrer Bunker: A Cycle of Poems in ProgressGerald SternLucky Life1978Hello, Darkness: The Collected Poems of L. E. SissmanWinnerAdrienne RichThe Dream of a Common Language: Poems, 1974-1977Mark StrandThe Late HourMay SwensonNew & Selected Things Taking PlaceJohn HollanderSpectral Emanations: New and Selected Poems 1979Ashes: Poems New and Old and 7 Years From SomewhereWinnerAnthony HechtThe Venetian VespersJohn HollanderBlue Wine and Other PoemsDavid SmithGoshawk, AntelopeHoward MossNotes From the Castle1980SunriseWinnerJoseph BrodskyA Part of SpeechRobert Penn WarrenBeing Here: Poetry, 1977-1980James SchuylerThe Morning of the PoemJames MerrillScripts for the Pageant1981A Coast of TreesWinnerDouglas CraseThe Revisionist Daniel HoffmanBrotherly LoveDonald FinkelWhat Manner of Beast Edward HirschThe Sleepwalkers1982Antarctic TravelerWinnerJack GilbertMonoliths: Poems, 1962 and 1982Brad LeithauserHundreds of FirefliesPhyllis JanowitzVisiting RitesW.S. MerwinFinding the Islands1983The Changing Light at SandoverWinnerJorie GrahamErosionAmy ClampittThe Kingfisher Cathy SongPicture BrideC.K. WilliamsTar1984The Dead and the LivingWinnerRobert DuncanGround Work: Before the WarCharles WrightThe Other Side of the River Dick AllenOvernight in the Guest House of the Mystic John AshberyA Wave 1985The Triumph of AchillesWinnerAmy ClampittWhat the Light Was LikeGjertude SchnackenbergThe Lamplit AnswerGalway KinnellThe PastJames MerrillLate Settings 1986Wild GratitudeWinnerIrving FeldmanAll of Us Here and Other PoemsBrad LeithauserCats of the Temple Timothy SteeleSapphics Against AngerAnne WintersThe Key to the City1987Flesh and BloodWinnerJohn AshberyApril GalleonsAlan ShapiroHappy HourMay Swenson In Other WordsDonald JusticeThe Sunset Maker 1988The One DayWinnerRichard WilburNew and Collected PoemsJohn HollanderHarp Lake Kenneth Koch One Thousand Avant-Garde PlaysThomas McGrathSelected Poems, 1938-19881989Transparent GesturesWinnerAugust KleinzahlerEarthquake Weather Robert HassHuman WishesThylias MossPyramid of BoneNancy WillardWater Walker1990Bitter AngelWinnerFrank BidartIn the Western Night FinalistJohn HainesNew Poems, 1980-88Anthony HechtThe Transparent ManCharles SimicThe Book of Gods and Devils1991Heaven and Earth: A CosmologyWinnerDiane AckermanJaguar of Sweet Laughter: New & Selected PoemsFinalistAllen GrossmanThe Ether Dome and Other Poems: New & Selected (1979-1991)Philip LevineWhat Work IsAdrienne RichAn Atlas of the Difficult World 1992Collected Shorter Poems 1946–1991WinnerDavid FerryGilgameshFinalistMaxine KuminLooking for LuckSharon OldsThe FatherK.C. WilliamsA Dream of Mine 1993My AlexandriaWinnerDonald HallThe Museum of Clear IdeasFinalistLinda HoganThe Book of MedicinesAudre LordeThe Marvelous Arithmetic of DistanceJack MarshallSesame1994RiderWinnerDorianne LauxWhat We CarryFinalistMarilyn HackerWinter Numbers Philip LevineThe Simple TruthMary Jo SalterSunday Skaters1995Time and MoneyWinnerLynda HullThe Only World FinalistJames MerrillA Scattering of Salts Carl PhillipsCortege Ellen Bryant VoigtKyrie1996Sun Under WoodWinnerStephen DunnLoosestrifeFinalistMartín EspadaImagine the Angels of BreadJane ShoreMusic Minus OneC.K. WilliamsThe Vigil 1997Black ZodiacWinnerFrank BidartDesire FinalistBrenda HillmanLoose SugarMark JarmanQuestions for Ecclesiastes Sonya SanchezDoes Your House Have Lions? 1998The Bird CatcherWinnerPamela White HadasSelf-Evidence FinalistThylias MossLast Chance for the Tarzan Holler Anne CarsonThe Autobiography of Red: A Novel in VerseYusef KomunyakaaThieves of Paradise1999Ordinary WordsWinnerRafael CampoDivaFinalistTory DentHIV, Mon AmourRita DoveOn the Bus With Rosa ParksSusan KingsolvingDailies & Rushes2000Carolina Ghost WoodsWinnerMichael CollierThe Ledge FinalistAnne CarsonMen in the Off HoursYusef KomunyakaaTalking Dirty to the GodsDavis McCombsUltima Thule2001Saving LivesWinnerLouise GluckThe Seven AgesFinalistBob HicokAnimal Soul Jane HirshfieldGiven Sugar, Given SaltCzeslaw MiloszA Treatise on Poetry2002Early Occult Memory Systems of the Lower MidwestWinnerMajor JacksonLeaving SaturnFinalistHarryette MullenSleeping With the DictionarySharon OldsThe Unswept RoomAdam ZagajewskiWithout End: New and Selected Poems2003ColumbariumWinnerCarolyn ForcheBlue Hour FinalistTony HoaglandWhat Narcissism Means to Me Venus Khoury-GhataShe SaysMary Szybist, tr. Marilyn HackerGranted 2004The School Among the RuinsWinnerBrigit Pegeen KellyThe OrchardFinalistD.A. PowellCocktailsJames RichardsonInterglacial Gary SnyderDanger on Peaks2005Refusing HeavenWinnerSimon ArmitageThe ShoutFinalistBlas Manuel de LunaBent to the Earth Richard SikenCrushRon SlateThe Incentive of the Maggot2006Tom Thomson in PurgatoryWinnerDaisy FriedMy Brother is Getting Arrested AgainFinalistMiltos SachtourisPoems (1945-1971) Frederick SeidelOoga-BoogaW.D. SnodgrassNot for Specialists: New and Selected Poems2007ElegyWinnerModern LifeFinalistNew PoemsSleeping and WakingThe Ballad of Jamie Allan2008Half the World in LightWinner (tie)Sleeping it Off in Rapid CityHuman Dark with SugarFinalistSources with John Ashbery (trans.)The Landscapist2009VersedWinnerA Village LifeFinalistCaptive Voices: New and Selected Poems, 1960–2008ChronicMuseum of Accidents2010One With OthersWinnerLightheadFinalistNoxThe Best of ItThe Eternal City2011Space, In ChainsWinnerCore Samples from the WorldFinalistDevotionsKingdom AnimaliaThe Chameleon Couch2012Useless Landscape, or A Guide for BoysWinnerBewilderment: New Poems and TranslationsFinalistFragile ActsOlivesOn the Spectrum of Possible Deaths2013Metaphysical DogWinnerBlowoutFinalistElegy OwedMilk and FilthStay, Illusion2014Citizen: An American LyricWinnerAbideFinalistOnce in the WestPrelude to BruiseThe Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon2015Catalogue of Unabashed GratitudeWinner Bright Dead ThingsFinalistHow to Be DrawnParallax: And Selected PoemsWhat About This: Collected Poems of Frank Stanford2016House of Lords and CommonsWinner At the Foundling HospitalFinalistBlackacreOlioWorks and Days2017WhereasWinnerAna RistovićDirections for UseFinalistEarthlingFourth Person SingularThe Darkness of Snow2018The CarryingWinnerAmerican Sonnets for My Past and Future AssassinFinalist with Clare Cavanagh (trans.)AsymmetryHoly Moly Carry MeStill Life with Two Dead Peacocks and a Girl2019Magical NegroWinnerDeaf RepublicFinalistDoomstead DaysDunceThe Tradition2020Here Is the Sweet HandWinnerHomieFinalistImperial LiquorObitThe Shore2021Frank: SonnetsWinnerCeiveFinalistCultishThe Renunciations: PoemsThe Rinehart Frames2022Hotel OblivionWinnerbanana [ ]FinalistHello I Must Be GoingThings You May Find Hidden in My EarMilkweed Smithereens2023Phantom Pain WingsWinnerFinalistInformation DeskTrace Evidence2024Wrong NormaWinnerFinalistConsider the RoosterInstructions for the LoversScattered Snows, to the North2025Night WatchWinnerChronicle of Drifting FinalistDeath of the First Idea Unravel
References
External links
of NBCC