September – A United Kingdom examination board, Assessment and Qualifications Alliance, asks schools to withdraw copies of its anthology which contain the poem, Education for Leisure by
Carol Ann Duffy after some teachers complained about the poem's reference to knives. Other teachers oppose the move, and Duffy responds with a new poem, Mrs Schofield's GCSE.[1]
December 15 – The
American Academy of Arts and Sciences begins awarding the May Sarton prize. Five "emerging poets" each year will receive a $2,000 honorarium and an opportunity to have their work published in the Academy's journal, Daedalus (for winners, see "Awards and honors" section, below).[2]
Dennis Brutus is awarded the Lifetime Honorary Award by the South African Department of Arts and Culture for his lifelong dedication to African and world poetry and literary arts.[3] Brutus was also an activist who was imprisoned and incarcerated in the cell next to
Nelson Mandela's on
Robben Island from 1963 to 1965.[4]
Robert Adamson, The Golden Bird, winner of the
C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry in the 2009 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, shortlisted for the 2009 Age Book of the Year Awards
Vladimir Nabokov (posthumous), edited by
Brian Boyd (New Zealand academic) and
Stanislav Shvabrin, ' 'Verses and Versions: Three Centuries of Russian Poetry Selected and translated by Vladimir Nabokov' ', English translations of Russian poetry, presented next to the Russian originals, Harcourt (published in the United States)
Sam Sampson, Everything Talks, Auckland University Press and Shearsman Books; winner of the 2009 New Zealand Society of Authors Jessie Mackay Best First Book Award for Poetry
Best New Zealand Poetry 2007
The year's guest editor, who chose 25 poems for inclusion, was
Paula Green. The list appeared at the series website in February 2008.[17]
Forward Book of Poetry 2009 (published October 2008), Faber and Faber,
ISBN978-0-571-24396-9
Criticism, biography and scholarship in the United Kingdom
Bloodaxe Poetry Lectures: a series of talks by poets at the
University of Newcastle upon Tyne about the craft and practice of poetry, published by Bloodaxe Books:
George Oppen, Selected Prose, Daybooks, and Papers (edited by Stephen Cope), (University of California Press) (publication was 2007, but not available until 2008)
Vladimir Nabokov (posthumous), edited by
Brian Boyd and
Stanislav Shvabrin, Verses and Versions: Three Centuries of Russian Poetry Selected and translated by Vladimir Nabokov, English translations of
Russian poetry, presented next to the Russian originals, Harcourt
Robert Frost, The Collected Prose of Robert Frost, edited by Mark Richardson; Frost was reluctant to publish his collected prose and even said he lost his notes to the
Charles Eliot Norton Lectures he delivered at Harvard in
1936 (Harvard University Press)
Donald Hall, Unpacking the Boxes: A Memoir of a Life in Poetry, Houghton Mifflin
Yves Bonnefoy, La Longue Chaîne de l'Ancre ("The Anchor's Long Chain"), publisher: Mercure de France
Hélène Dorion, Le Hublot des heures, Paris, Éditions de La Différence;
Canadian poet published in France
Haïjin, translated from her
Japanese edition, Du rouge aux lèvres ("Red lips"), publisher: La Table Ronde, short poems to be read aloud in a single breath
Philippe Jaccottet, Ce peu de bruits ("This Little Noise"), publisher: Gallimard
die Ungewissheit der Barke/la barca sin certidumbre ("The Uncertainty of the Boat"), publisher: Arovell
Nachtwache ("Nightwatch"), Edition Thanhäuser, 37 poems; St. Georgs Presse
Bjoern Kuligk and
Jan Wagner, editors, Lyrik von Jetzt 2 ("Poetry of Now 2"), publisher: Berlin Verlag, featuring poetry by 50 authors born after 1969 (a follow-up volume to Lyrik von Jetzt, published in
2003
Michael Longley, Το χταπόδι του Ομήρου ("The Octopus of Homer"), translated from the original English of the
Irish author by
Harris Vlavianos, Athens: Patakis
Mohammad Reza Shafi'i Kadkani, editor, Gozideh-ye Ghazaliyat-e Shams extensive, annotated selections from Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi ("The Collected Poems of Shams of Tabriz")by
Rumi;
Persian, published in Iran[38]
Ru'ya Muqaddas, Ru'yaha-yi 'ashiqanah: 'ashiqanahha-yi Ru'ya ("Loverly Reveries: Love Songs of Ru'ya")[37]
Griffin Poetry Prize: International, in the English Language:
John Ashbery, Notes from the Air: Selected Later Poems (HarperCollins Publishers/Ecco)
Others on the shortlist:
David Harsent, Selected Poems 1969–2005 (Faber);
Elaine Equi, Ripple Effect: New and Selected Poems (Coffee House Press);
Clayton Eshleman, translating from the Spanish by
César Vallejo, The Complete Poetry: A Bilingual Edition (University of California Press)
The Poetry Center Book Award (2008): –
Barbara Guest (awarded posthumously) for The Collected Poems of Barbara Guest (ed. Hadley Haden Guest, Wesleyan University Press); Judge:
Eileen Tabios[43]
April 3 –
Andrew Crozier, 64,
English poet associated with the
British Poetry Revival, with connections to
American poetry, who edited volumes by American poet
Carl Rakosi After Rakosi's Selected Poems, published in
1941, Rakosi dedicated himself to social work and apparently neither read nor wrote any poetry at all. A letter from Crozier to Rakosi asking about his early poetry was the trigger that started Rakosi writing again. His first book in 26 years, Amulet was published by
New Directions in
1967 and his Collected Poems in
1986 by the
National Poetry Foundation; of a
brain tumour.
[9]
April 24 –
Jason Shinder, 53 (born
1955),
American poet, editor, anthologist and teacher who founded the Y.M.C.A. National Writer's Voice program, one of the country's largest networks of literary-arts centers, at one time an assistant to
Allen Ginsberg[52]
May 2 –
Ilyas Malayev, 72,
Uzbek musician, wedding entertainer and poet. "His performances in stadiums drew tens of thousands of Uzbeks, and his appeal reached beyond his native republic", according to The New York Times.[53]
July 16 –
Richard Exner (born
1929)
German and
American poet, academic and translator who moved to the United States in 1950, then moved to Germany after his retirement[61]
July 9 –
Kilin,
pen name of Mikiel Spiteri, 90,
Maltese poet and novelist; fluent in six languages and published in English, Spanish and other languages[62]
September 28 –
Konstantin Pavlov, 75 (born
1933),
Bulgarian poet and screenwriter who was defiant against his country's communist regime; When censors prevented his works from being published officially in the country from 1966 to 1976, his popularity didn't wane, as Bulgarians clandestinely copied and read his poems.[72]
December 14 –
Tajal Bewas, pen name of Taj Mohammed Samoo, 70 (born
1938), bucolic Sufi poet, novelist, short-story writer, teacher and
Pakistani government official[82]
^
abWeb page titled "Literature/Year in Review 2009/English: Other Literature in English" at the Encyclopædia Britannica website, retrieved February 22, 2010
^The publication of Complete Early Poems, (Green Integer) was scheduled for publication in 2008, but as of May 2010 had not appeared. Since she received the Pulitzer Prize for Versed, look for a future publication of this collection which is to consist of Armantrout's early collections, from 1978's Extremities to 1995's Made to Seem.
^Summary of a
Le Monde article[permanent dead link] on Suied's death, August 13, 2008 ("The poet Alain Suied died Thursday in Paris on July 24 due to cancer."), retrieved December 14, 2008
^Pandya, Haresh,
"Ahmed Faraz, Outspoken Urdu Poet, Dies at 77", obituary, The New York Times, September 1, 2008, retrieved December 10, 2008 ("He was earlier reported to have died while being treated in a Chicago hospital after a fall in Baltimore, but he returned to his homeland, where he died.")
^Tribute at Poetry FoundationArchived 2008-09-14 at the
Wayback Machine Shepherd was a frequent contributor to the Poetry Foundation blog called Harriet. Listed here are dozens of tributes and comments from many who were touched in some way by Shepherd and his work
Britannica Book of the Year 2009 (events of 2008), published by the Encyclopædia Britannica, online edition (subscription required), "Literature/Year in Review 2008" section
September – A United Kingdom examination board, Assessment and Qualifications Alliance, asks schools to withdraw copies of its anthology which contain the poem, Education for Leisure by
Carol Ann Duffy after some teachers complained about the poem's reference to knives. Other teachers oppose the move, and Duffy responds with a new poem, Mrs Schofield's GCSE.[1]
December 15 – The
American Academy of Arts and Sciences begins awarding the May Sarton prize. Five "emerging poets" each year will receive a $2,000 honorarium and an opportunity to have their work published in the Academy's journal, Daedalus (for winners, see "Awards and honors" section, below).[2]
Dennis Brutus is awarded the Lifetime Honorary Award by the South African Department of Arts and Culture for his lifelong dedication to African and world poetry and literary arts.[3] Brutus was also an activist who was imprisoned and incarcerated in the cell next to
Nelson Mandela's on
Robben Island from 1963 to 1965.[4]
Robert Adamson, The Golden Bird, winner of the
C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry in the 2009 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, shortlisted for the 2009 Age Book of the Year Awards
Vladimir Nabokov (posthumous), edited by
Brian Boyd (New Zealand academic) and
Stanislav Shvabrin, ' 'Verses and Versions: Three Centuries of Russian Poetry Selected and translated by Vladimir Nabokov' ', English translations of Russian poetry, presented next to the Russian originals, Harcourt (published in the United States)
Sam Sampson, Everything Talks, Auckland University Press and Shearsman Books; winner of the 2009 New Zealand Society of Authors Jessie Mackay Best First Book Award for Poetry
Best New Zealand Poetry 2007
The year's guest editor, who chose 25 poems for inclusion, was
Paula Green. The list appeared at the series website in February 2008.[17]
Forward Book of Poetry 2009 (published October 2008), Faber and Faber,
ISBN978-0-571-24396-9
Criticism, biography and scholarship in the United Kingdom
Bloodaxe Poetry Lectures: a series of talks by poets at the
University of Newcastle upon Tyne about the craft and practice of poetry, published by Bloodaxe Books:
George Oppen, Selected Prose, Daybooks, and Papers (edited by Stephen Cope), (University of California Press) (publication was 2007, but not available until 2008)
Vladimir Nabokov (posthumous), edited by
Brian Boyd and
Stanislav Shvabrin, Verses and Versions: Three Centuries of Russian Poetry Selected and translated by Vladimir Nabokov, English translations of
Russian poetry, presented next to the Russian originals, Harcourt
Robert Frost, The Collected Prose of Robert Frost, edited by Mark Richardson; Frost was reluctant to publish his collected prose and even said he lost his notes to the
Charles Eliot Norton Lectures he delivered at Harvard in
1936 (Harvard University Press)
Donald Hall, Unpacking the Boxes: A Memoir of a Life in Poetry, Houghton Mifflin
Yves Bonnefoy, La Longue Chaîne de l'Ancre ("The Anchor's Long Chain"), publisher: Mercure de France
Hélène Dorion, Le Hublot des heures, Paris, Éditions de La Différence;
Canadian poet published in France
Haïjin, translated from her
Japanese edition, Du rouge aux lèvres ("Red lips"), publisher: La Table Ronde, short poems to be read aloud in a single breath
Philippe Jaccottet, Ce peu de bruits ("This Little Noise"), publisher: Gallimard
die Ungewissheit der Barke/la barca sin certidumbre ("The Uncertainty of the Boat"), publisher: Arovell
Nachtwache ("Nightwatch"), Edition Thanhäuser, 37 poems; St. Georgs Presse
Bjoern Kuligk and
Jan Wagner, editors, Lyrik von Jetzt 2 ("Poetry of Now 2"), publisher: Berlin Verlag, featuring poetry by 50 authors born after 1969 (a follow-up volume to Lyrik von Jetzt, published in
2003
Michael Longley, Το χταπόδι του Ομήρου ("The Octopus of Homer"), translated from the original English of the
Irish author by
Harris Vlavianos, Athens: Patakis
Mohammad Reza Shafi'i Kadkani, editor, Gozideh-ye Ghazaliyat-e Shams extensive, annotated selections from Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi ("The Collected Poems of Shams of Tabriz")by
Rumi;
Persian, published in Iran[38]
Ru'ya Muqaddas, Ru'yaha-yi 'ashiqanah: 'ashiqanahha-yi Ru'ya ("Loverly Reveries: Love Songs of Ru'ya")[37]
Griffin Poetry Prize: International, in the English Language:
John Ashbery, Notes from the Air: Selected Later Poems (HarperCollins Publishers/Ecco)
Others on the shortlist:
David Harsent, Selected Poems 1969–2005 (Faber);
Elaine Equi, Ripple Effect: New and Selected Poems (Coffee House Press);
Clayton Eshleman, translating from the Spanish by
César Vallejo, The Complete Poetry: A Bilingual Edition (University of California Press)
The Poetry Center Book Award (2008): –
Barbara Guest (awarded posthumously) for The Collected Poems of Barbara Guest (ed. Hadley Haden Guest, Wesleyan University Press); Judge:
Eileen Tabios[43]
April 3 –
Andrew Crozier, 64,
English poet associated with the
British Poetry Revival, with connections to
American poetry, who edited volumes by American poet
Carl Rakosi After Rakosi's Selected Poems, published in
1941, Rakosi dedicated himself to social work and apparently neither read nor wrote any poetry at all. A letter from Crozier to Rakosi asking about his early poetry was the trigger that started Rakosi writing again. His first book in 26 years, Amulet was published by
New Directions in
1967 and his Collected Poems in
1986 by the
National Poetry Foundation; of a
brain tumour.
[9]
April 24 –
Jason Shinder, 53 (born
1955),
American poet, editor, anthologist and teacher who founded the Y.M.C.A. National Writer's Voice program, one of the country's largest networks of literary-arts centers, at one time an assistant to
Allen Ginsberg[52]
May 2 –
Ilyas Malayev, 72,
Uzbek musician, wedding entertainer and poet. "His performances in stadiums drew tens of thousands of Uzbeks, and his appeal reached beyond his native republic", according to The New York Times.[53]
July 16 –
Richard Exner (born
1929)
German and
American poet, academic and translator who moved to the United States in 1950, then moved to Germany after his retirement[61]
July 9 –
Kilin,
pen name of Mikiel Spiteri, 90,
Maltese poet and novelist; fluent in six languages and published in English, Spanish and other languages[62]
September 28 –
Konstantin Pavlov, 75 (born
1933),
Bulgarian poet and screenwriter who was defiant against his country's communist regime; When censors prevented his works from being published officially in the country from 1966 to 1976, his popularity didn't wane, as Bulgarians clandestinely copied and read his poems.[72]
December 14 –
Tajal Bewas, pen name of Taj Mohammed Samoo, 70 (born
1938), bucolic Sufi poet, novelist, short-story writer, teacher and
Pakistani government official[82]
^
abWeb page titled "Literature/Year in Review 2009/English: Other Literature in English" at the Encyclopædia Britannica website, retrieved February 22, 2010
^The publication of Complete Early Poems, (Green Integer) was scheduled for publication in 2008, but as of May 2010 had not appeared. Since she received the Pulitzer Prize for Versed, look for a future publication of this collection which is to consist of Armantrout's early collections, from 1978's Extremities to 1995's Made to Seem.
^Summary of a
Le Monde article[permanent dead link] on Suied's death, August 13, 2008 ("The poet Alain Suied died Thursday in Paris on July 24 due to cancer."), retrieved December 14, 2008
^Pandya, Haresh,
"Ahmed Faraz, Outspoken Urdu Poet, Dies at 77", obituary, The New York Times, September 1, 2008, retrieved December 10, 2008 ("He was earlier reported to have died while being treated in a Chicago hospital after a fall in Baltimore, but he returned to his homeland, where he died.")
^Tribute at Poetry FoundationArchived 2008-09-14 at the
Wayback Machine Shepherd was a frequent contributor to the Poetry Foundation blog called Harriet. Listed here are dozens of tributes and comments from many who were touched in some way by Shepherd and his work
Britannica Book of the Year 2009 (events of 2008), published by the Encyclopædia Britannica, online edition (subscription required), "Literature/Year in Review 2008" section