Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize

The Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize is awarded annually by The Poetry Foundation, which also publishes Poetry magazine. The prize was established in 1986 by Ruth Lilly. It honors a living U.S. poet whose "lifetime accomplishments warrant extraordinary recognition"; its value is $100,000^[1][2] making it one of the richest literary prizes in the world. The prize has been called "among the most prestigious awards that can be won by an American poet".^[3]

Winners

The following list is based on the listing by the Poetry Foundation.^[4][5]

1986: Adrienne Rich
1987: Philip Levine
1988: Anthony Hecht
1989: Mona Van Duyn
1990: Hayden Carruth
1991: David Wagoner
1992: John Ashbery
1993: Charles Wright
1994: Donald Hall
1995: A. R. Ammons
1996: Gerald Stern
1997: William Matthews
1998: W. S. Merwin
1999: Maxine Kumin
2000: Carl Dennis
2001: Yusef Komunyakaa
2002: Lisel Mueller
2003: Linda Pastan
2004: Kay Ryan
2005: C. K. Williams
2006: Richard Wilbur
2007: Lucille Clifton
2008: Gary Snyder
2009: Fanny Howe
2010: Eleanor Ross Taylor
2011: David Ferry^[6]
2012: W. S. Di Piero^[7]
2013: Marie Ponsot^[8]
2014: Nathaniel Mackey^[9]
2015: Alice Notley^[10]
2016: Ed Roberson
2017: Joy Harjo
2018: Martín Espada^[11]
2019: Marilyn Nelson
2020: Marilyn Chin^[12]
2021: Patricia Smith
2022: Sandra Cisneros, CAConrad, Rita Dove, Nikki Giovanni, Juan Felipe Herrera, Angela Jackson, Haki R. Madhubuti, Sharon Olds, Sonia Sanchez, Patti Smith and Arthur Sze^[13]

See also

• American poetry
• List of poetry awards
• List of literary awards
• List of years in poetry
• List of years in literature

References

1. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/foundation/prizes-lilly, webpage maintained by The Poetry Foundation. Online version retrieved October 23, 2018.
2. Kinzer, Stephen (2004). "Poetry Starts to Wear $100 Million Crown", The New York Times October 7, 2004. Online version retrieved May 22, 2008.
3. Mccauley, Mary Carole (May 9, 2007). "Poet turns a page in poetry prize history". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 6, 2009.
4. Foundation, Poetry (February 24, 2020). "Foundation Awards". Poetry Foundation.
5. Foundation, Poetry (February 24, 2020). "Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize". Poetry Foundation.
6. "David Ferry Awarded 2011 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize". Poetry Foundation. April 12, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
7. "W.S. Di Piero Awarded 2012 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize". Poetry Foundation. April 17, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
8. "Marie Ponsot Wins Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize". Poets & Writers. March 20, 2013.
9. Foundation, Poetry (February 24, 2020). "Nathaniel Mackey". Poetry Foundation.
10. Foundation, Poetry (February 24, 2020). "Alice Notley Awarded 2015 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize by Harriet Staff". Poetry Foundation.
11. Foundation, Poetry (February 24, 2020). "Martín Espada Awarded 2018 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize". Poetry Foundation.
12. "Poetry Foundation Announces 2020 Pegasus Awards Winners, Marilyn Chin Awarded Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize". Poetry Foundation. September 7, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
13. "Poetry Foundation Makes History Honoring 2022 Pegasus Awardees". Poetry Foundation. September 8, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.