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National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry
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Death of the First Idea
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The Other Love
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Unravel
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2020s
2010s
- 2019Magical Negro: Poems — Morgan Parker
- 2018The Carrying — Ada Limón
- 2017Whereas — Layli Long Soldier
- 2016House of Lords and Commons
- 2015Catalogue of Unabashed Gratitude — Ross Gay
- 2014Citizen: An American Lyric — Claudia Rankine
- 2013Metaphysical Dog — Frank Bidart
- 2012Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys
- 2011Space, in Chains
- 2010One With Others
2000s
- 2009Versed — Rae Armantrout
- 2008Half the World in Light — Juan Felipe Herrera
- 2007Elegy — Mary Jo Bang
- 2006Tom Thomson in Purgatory — Troy Jollimore
- 2005Refusing Heaven — Jack Gilbert
- 2004The School Among the Ruins — Adrienne Rich
- 2003Columbarium — Susan Stewart
- 2002Early Occult Memory Systems of the Lower Midwest — B.H. Fairchild
- 2001Saving Lives — Albert Goldbarth
- 2000Carolina Ghost Woods — Judy Jordan
1990s
- 1999Ordinary Words — Ruth Stone
- 1998The Bird Catcher — Marie Ponsot
- 1997Black Zodiac — Charles Wright
- 1996Sun Under Wood — Robert Hass
- 1995Time and Money — William Matthews
- 1994Rider — Mark Rudman
- 1993My Alexandria — Mark Doty
- 1992Collected Shorter Poems 1946-1991 — Hayden Carruth
- 1991Heaven and Earth: A Cosmology — Albert Goldbarth
- 1990Bitter Angel — Amy Gerstler
1980s
- 1989Transparent Gestures — Rodney Jones
- 1988The One Day — Donald Hall
- 1987Flesh and Blood — C.K. Williams
- 1986Wild Gratitude — Edward Hirsch
- 1985The Triumph of Achilles — Louise Glück
- 1984The Dead and the Living — Sharon Olds
- 1983The Changing Light at Sandover — James Merrill
- 1982Antarctic Traveler — Katha Pollitt
- 1981A Coast of Trees — A.R. Ammons
- 1980Sunrise — Frederick Seidel
About the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry
The National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry recognizes the finest poetry collection published in English in the United States each year. Inaugurated in 1975 alongside the other NBCC awards, it is administered by the NBCC's 24-member board of professional critics who select winners through a rigorous deliberative process. Unlike many poetry prizes, the NBCC Poetry Award considers translated poetry collections, essay collections in verse, and self-published work, as long as the book was published in English in the United States.
The award has spotlighted a remarkable range of poetic voices over its history—from John Ashbery's inaugural win for Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror (1975) to Claudia Rankine's groundbreaking Citizen: An American Lyric (2014), Layli Long Soldier's Whereas (2017), and Kim Hyesoon's Phantom Pain Wings (2023). These selections reflect the NBCC's commitment to recognizing formal experimentation, political urgency, and the full spectrum of American poetic practice.
The award is announced at the NBCC Awards ceremony each March in New York City. Five finalists are typically named in January, with the winner revealed at the ceremony. The prize carries no cash award but provides substantial critical attention and commercial impact. It remains one of the most respected poetry prizes in the United States, alongside the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the National Book Award for Poetry.
Frequently Asked Questions
- The winner is selected by the 24 volunteer board members of the National Book Critics Circle—all professional book review editors and critics—through a democratic voting process.
- Yes. Translated poetry collections published in English in the United States are eligible for the NBCC Poetry Award, making it more inclusive than some other major American prizes.
- No cash prize accompanies the award. Winners receive the NBCC medallion and the significant attention that comes with the recognition.
- Finalists are announced in January, with the winner revealed at the NBCC Awards ceremony in March.
- The award has recognized formal poetry collections, hybrid works, book-length narrative poems, and experimental collections. Notable winners include works by C.D. Wright, Claudia Rankine, Ada Limón, and Anne Carson.
- Yes, the NBCC explicitly includes self-published books as eligible for consideration, though no self-published collection has won to date.
- Several poets have appeared as finalists multiple times, but repeat wins in the same category are rare. The prize tends to honor a breadth of voices rather than returning to established winners.