The Akron Poetry Prize is an annual contest held by The University of Akron Press. The competition is open to all poets writing in English. The winning poet receives an honorarium of $1,500 and publication of his or her book in the Akron Series in Poetry. The final selection is made by a nationally prominent poet. The final judge for 2017 was Oliver de la Paz. Other manuscripts may also be considered for publication by Series Editor Mary Biddinger. Past editor's choice selections have included books by

John Gallaher John Gallaher (born January 6, 1965) is an American poet and assistant professor of English at Northwest Missouri State University, and co-editor of ''The Laurel Review,'' supported by Northwest's English Department. Life John Gallaher was bo ...

, David Dodd Lee, and Sarah Perrier.

Winners

Source. *1995: Susan Yuzna, ''Her Slender Dress'', Judge: Charles Wright *1996: Clare Rossini, ''Winter Morning with Crow'', Judge:

Donald Justice Donald Rodney Justice (August 12, 1925 – August 6, 2004) was an American poet and teacher of creative writing who won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1980. Early life and education Justice was born on August 12, 1925, in Miami. He attended the ...

*1997: Jeanne E. Clark, ''Ohio Blue Tips'', Judge:

Alice Fulton Alice Fulton (born 1952) is an American author of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Fulton is the Ann S. Bowers Professor of English Emerita at Cornell University. Her awards include the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature, ...

*1998: Beckian Fritz Goldberg, ''Never Be the Horse'', Judge: Thomas Lux *1999: Dennis Hinrichsen, ''Detail from the Garden of Earthly Delights'', Judge:

Yusef Komunyakaa Yusef Komunyakaa (born James William Brown; April 29, 1941) is an American poet who teaches at New York University and is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. Komunyakaa is a recipient of the 1994 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, for '' ...

*2000: John Minczeski, ''Circle Routes'', Judge:

Mary Oliver Mary Jane Oliver (September 10, 1935 – January 17, 2019) was an American poet who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 and the National Book Award in 1992. She found inspiration for her work in nature and had a lifelong habit of solitary walks in th ...

*2001:

George Bilgere George Bilgere (born 1951) is an American poet. Bilgere grew up in Riverside, California, and earned his BA at the University of California, Riverside. He received his MA in English Literature from Washington University in St. Louis and earned a ...

, ''The Good Kiss,'' Judge:

Billy Collins William James Collins (born March 22, 1941) is an American poet who served as the Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. He was a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York, retiring in 2016. Co ...

*2002: Roger Mitchell, ''Delicate Bait'', Judge:

Charles Simic Dušan Simić ( sr-cyr, Душан Симић, ; May 9, 1938 – January 9, 2023), known as Charles Simic, was a Serbian American poet and poetry co-editor of ''The Paris Review''. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1990 for '' The W ...

*2003: Sharmila Voorakkara, ''Fire Wheel,'' Judge:

Maxine Kumin Maxine Kumin (June 6, 1925 – February 6, 2014) was an American poet and author. She was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1981–1982. Biography Early years Maxine Kumin was born Maxine Winokur on June ...

*2004:

Vern Rutsala Vern Rutsala (February 5, 1934 – April 2, 2014) was an American poet. Born in McCall, Idaho, he was educated at Reed College (B.A.) and the Iowa Writers' Workshop (M.F.A.). He taught English and creative writing at Lewis & Clark College in Portla ...

, ''How We Spent Our Time,'' Judge:

Robert Wrigley Robert Wrigley (born 1951 in East St. Louis, Illinois) is an American poet and educator. Biography In 1971 Wrigley was inducted into the army, filing for discharge as a conscientious objector. He received his M.F.A. in Poetry from the Universi ...

*2005: Ashley Capps, ''Mistaking the Sea for Green Fields,'' Judge:

Gerald Stern Gerald Daniel Stern (February 22, 1925 – October 27, 2022) was an American poet, essayist, and educator. The author of twenty collections of poetry and four books of essays, he taught literature and creative writing at Temple University, India ...

*2006: Alison Pelegrin, ''Big Muddy River of Stars,'' Judge: B. H. Fairchild *2007: Brian Brodeur, ''Other Latitudes'', Judge:

Stephen Dunn Stephen Elliot Dunn (June 24, 1939June 24, 2021) was an American poet and educator who authored twenty-one collections of poetry. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his 2000 collection, ''Different Hours,'' and received an Academy Award i ...

*2008: Rachel Dilworth, ''The Wild Rose Asylum: Poems of the Magdalen Laundries of Ireland'', Judge:

Rita Dove Rita Frances Dove (born August 28, 1952) is an American poet and essayist. From 1993 to 1995, she served as United States Poet Laureate, Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. She is the first African American to have bee ...

*2009: Oliver de la Paz, ''Requiem for the Orchard'', Judge:

Martín Espada Martín Espada (born 1957) is a Puerto Rican-American poet, and a professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he teaches poetry. Puerto Rico has frequently been featured as a theme in his poems. Life and career Espada was born ...

*2010: Joshua Harmon, ''Le Spleen de Poughkeepsie'', Judge: G.C. Waldrep *2011: Emily Rosko, ''Prop Rockery'', Judge: Natasha Sajé *2012: Seth Abramson, ''Thievery'', Judge:

Dara Wier Dara Barrois/Dixon (Dara Wier) (born December 30, 1949) is an American poet and author. She has received awards from the Lannan Foundation, American Poetry Review, The Poetry Center Book Award, Guggenheim Foundation, National Endowment for the Ar ...

*2013: John Repp, ''Fat Jersey Blues'', Judge: David Kirby *2014:

Philip Metres Philip Metres (born July 4, 1970) is an American writer, poet, translator, scholar, and essayist. His poetry books include ''Fugitive/Refuge'', ''Shrapnel Maps'', ''Pictures at an Exhibition'', and ''Sand Opera''. He has published poems, essays, ...

, ''Pictures at an Exhibition'', Judge:

Maxine Chernoff Maxine Chernoff (born 1952) is an American novelist, writer, poet, academic and literary magazine editor. Biography She was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, and attended the University of Illinois at Chicago. Chernoff is a professor and ...

*2015: Sandra Simonds, ''Further Problems with Pleasure'', Judge:

Carmen Giménez Smith ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opér ...

*2016: Aimée Baker, ''Doe'', Judge: Allison Joseph *2017: Tyler Mills, ''Hawk Parable'', Judge: Oliver de la Paz *2018: Kimberly Quiogue Andrews, ''A Brief History of Fruit'', Judge: Diane Seuss *2019: Sean Shearer, ''Red Lemons'', Judge:

Victoria Chang Victoria Chang is an American poet, writer, editor, and critic. She has experimented with different styles of writing, including writing poems shaped in obituaries, for parts of her life, including her parents and herself, in ''OBIT'', letters in ...

*2020: Aimee Seu, ''Velvet Hounds'', Judge:

*2021: Carrie Oeding, ''If I Could Give You a Line'', Judge: Erika Meitner *2022:

Lena Khalaf Tuffaha Lena Khalaf Tuffaha is a poet, essayist, and translator. She is co-founder of the Institute for Middle East Understanding and the author of five works of poetry: ''Letters from the Interior'' (Diode Editions); the 2018 Washington State Book Award ...

, ''Something About Living'', Judge:

Adrian Matejka Adrian Matejka is an American poet and author of ''The Devil's Garden'' and ''Mixology''. His most decorated work is ''The Big Smoke'', which won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and was nominated for the National Book Award for Poetry and the Pulit ...

*2023: Jess Smith, ''Lady Smith'', Judge: Sandra Beasley

References

{{Reflist

External links

University of Akron Press

Akron Series in Poetry

Akron Poetry Prize Submission Guidelines

University of Akron
American poetry awards