CGU Reveals Names of Finalists for Two Poetry Awards

Claremont Graduate University today revealed the 2013 shortlist for two awards honoring books by promising poets.

The Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, now in its 21st year, carries a $100,000 cash prize. The winner will be picked from a pool of three poets: Marianne Boruch, for her book "The Book of Hours"; Edward Haworth Hoeppner, for "Blood Prism"; and Paisley Rekdal, for "Animal Eye."

The award is given to a poet who has been writing for some time, but has not reached the zenith of his or her poetry career, according to the university.

The Kate Tufts Award, established in 1993, is given to individuals who have just published their first book of poetry. The finalists are Rebecca Morgan Frank, for her book "Little Murders Everywhere"; Francine J. Harris, for "Allegiance"; and Heidy Steidlmayer, for "Fowling Piece." The cash prize for the award is $10,000.

"We received an impressive range of work this year and we found ourselves with an embarrassment of riches," said judge Linda Gregerson, an English professor at the University of Michigan and past award recipient. "We deeply admire and respect the work of these finalists, and we are thrilled and delighted to announce these honors."

The winners, to be revealed in March, will be picked by a panel of fellow poets. The judges are Gregerson; David Barber, Atlantic Monthly poetry editor; Kate Gale, editor of Red Hen Press; Ted Genoways, a journalist; and Carl Phillips, professor at Washington University in St. Louis and chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.

Timothy Donnelly of Brooklyn, N.Y., won last year's Kingston Tufts Award for his book "The Cloud Corporation." Katherine Larson, an Arizona-based biologist whose book "Radial Symmetry" garnered her the latest Kate Tufts Discovery Award.