Elizabeth Alexander, author of four books of verse received the first annual Jackson Poetry Prize. This $50,000 award has been graded for poets with exceptional talents and genius and who haven’t yet got the deserved commendation. The award is named after philanthropist and poet Susan Jackson and her husband, John Jackson.
The winner was announced on Friday by the sponsor of the prize; Poets & Writers, Inc. She was selected by a jury of three poets: Lucille Clifton, Stephen Dunn and Jane Hirshfield. She is working as a professor of the African-American studies at Yale University. She was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2005 for her collection ‘American Sublime’. ‘The Venus Hottentot,’ ‘Body of Life’ and ‘Antebellum Dream Book’, are her books.
Source:MSNBC
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