Finalist: Break the Glass , by Jean Valentine (Copper Canyon Press )
A collection of imaginative poems in which small details can accrue great power and a reader is never sure where any poem might lead.
Winners
Prize Winner in Poetry in 2011:
Kay Ryan
A body of work spanning 45 years, witty, rebellious and yet tender, a treasure trove of an iconoclastic and joyful mind.
Poetry
Finalists
Nominated as finalists in Poetry in 2011:
Maurice Manning
A rich, often poignant collection of poems rooted in a rural Kentucky experiencing change in its culture and landscape.
The Jury
The Jury
Grace Schulman
distinguished professor
Susan Stewart(chair )
poet and Avalon Foundation University Professor in the Humanities
Ted Kooser*
former U.S. poet laureate
Winners in Poetry
Rae Armantrout
A book striking for its wit and linguistic inventiveness, offering poems that are often little thought-bombs detonating in the mind long after the first reading.
W.S. Merwin
A collection of luminous, often tender poems that focus on the profound power of memory.
2011 Prize Winners
Jennifer Egan
An inventive investigation of growing up and growing old in the digital age, displaying a big-hearted curiosity about cultural change at warp speed.
Ron Chernow
A sweeping, authoritative portrait of an iconic leader learning to master his private feelings in order to fulfill his public duties.
Mike Keefe
For his widely ranging cartoons that employ a loose, expressive style to send strong, witty messages.
Kay Ryan
A body of work spanning 45 years, witty, rebellious and yet tender, a treasure trove of an iconoclastic and joyful mind.