Rochester, N.Y. — BOA Editions is thrilled to announce that two BOA titles have won prestigious awards from the Academy of American Poets. In a release distributed by AP News this morning, the Academy of American Poets announced that The Trembling Answers by Craig Morgan Teicher won the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize and that Night Angler by Geffrey Davis won the James Laughlin Award.
BOA Publisher Peter Conners says, “I couldn’t be happier to see two BOA titles win awards from the Academy of American Poets this year. Geffrey and Craig are both outstanding poets, and their newest collections are bold, profound, moving, and vital. I celebrate them on behalf of the entire BOA family!”
The Trembling Answers is the second BOA collection to win the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize. Established by the Academy of American Poets in 1975 to honor poet, novelist, essayist, and political activist Lenore Marshall (1897–1971), the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize recognizes the most outstanding book of poetry published in the United States during the previous calendar year. Past recipients include John Logan’s The Bridge of Change: Poems 1974-1980 (BOA Editions, 1978), John Ashberry, Kevin Young, Rigoberto Gonzalez, C.D. Wright, and 2018 Poulin Prize judge Patricia Smith. The judges for the 2018 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize were Laura Kasischke, Campbell McGrath, and Mary Szybist.
“I'm beside myself with gratitude to the Academy of American Poets and to the judges for awarding the Lenore Marshall prize to The Trembling Answers. It's utterly humbling to join this storied list of winners, and incredibly gratifying to think that this book, which is so much about fatherhood and parenting a child with special needs, might reach more readers,” said Craig Morgan Teicher.
Teicher will receive a $25,000 prize from the Academy of American Poets in recognition of his work.
Night Angler is the third BOA title in five years to win the James Laughlin Award. Established in 1954, the James Laughlin Award is given annually to recognize and support a second book of poetry by an American poet forthcoming in the next calendar year. It is named for the poet and publisher James Laughlin (1914–1997), founder of New Directions. Previous BOA winners of the James Laughlin Award include Kathryn Nurenberger’s The End of Pink (2016), Jillian Weise’s The Book of Goodbyes (2013), Brigit Pegeen Kelly’s Song (1994), and Li-Young Lee’s The City in Which I Love You (1990). The judges for the 2018 James Laughlin Award were Patricia Spears Jones, Craig Santos Perez, and Prageeta Sharma.
“I am stunned and so deeply honored to have Night Angler receive the 2018 James Laughlin Award. I will likely spend the rest of my writing life processing the great privilege of having my second collection added to a list populated by so many of my own literary heroes: Tracy K. Smith, Cornelius Eady, Sharon Olds, Carolyn Forché, Li-Young Lee, Brigit Pegeen Kelly, et cetera. Stunned, I tell you,” said Geffrey Davis.
Davis will receive a $5,000 prize and an all-expenses-paid week-long residency at The Betsy Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.
Both titles will be distributed to the members of the Academy of American Poets. The Trembling Answers is on sale now in the BOA Bookstore (www.boaeditions.org), and Night Angler will be available for preorder from BOA Editions in October.
Visit the Academy of American Poets's website to learn more about this year's awards, including quotes from this year's judges: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/stanza/academy-american-poets-announces-recipients-2018-american-poets-prizes.
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