Jackson Poetry Prize

The Jackson Poetry Prize, established in 2006, honors an American poet of exceptional talent  who deserves wider recognition. Eligible poets must have published at least two books of acknowledged literary merit. The $50,000 prize is designed to provide what all poets need—time and the encouragement to write. There is no application process for the Jackson Poetry Prize—nominees are identified by a group of poets selected by Poets & Writers who remain anonymous; final selection is made by a panel of esteemed poets.

In December 2008, the Liana Foundation (established by the John and Susan Jackson Family) announced it will donate $2 million to Poets & Writers to endow The Jackson Poetry Prize. The gift is the largest in the organization’s history.

The 2009 Jackson Poetry Prize recipient is Linda Gregg, who was selected by the poets Brenda Hillman, Edward Hirsch, and Charles Simic.

Gregg’s books include All of It Singing (2008), In the Middle Distance (2006), Things and Flesh (1999), Chosen by the Lion (1994), The Sacraments of Desire (1991), Alma (1985), Eight Poems (1982) and Too Bright to See (1981), all published by Graywolf Press. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Lannan Literary Foundation Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, a Whiting Writer’s Award, the William Carlos Williams Award, and multiple Pushcart Prizes. Gregg has taught at the University of Iowa, Columbia University, and the University of California at Berkeley. She currently lives in New York and teaches at Princeton University. She received her B.A. and M.A. from San Francisco State University.

In 2007, Elizabeth Alexander was selected as the inaugural recipient of the Jackson Poetry Prize by the poets Lucille Clifton, Stephen Dunn, and Jane Hirshfield. In 2008, Tony Hoagland was selected by the poets Philip Levine, Robert Pinsky, and Ellen Bryant Voigt.

(Photo Credit: Hal Lum)

View a video of Linda Gregg reading her work at Poets & Writers event.

View a video of Tony Hoagland reading his work at a Poets & Writers event.

View a video of Elizabeth Alexander reading her work at a Poets & Writers event.