Sierra Foothills Poet Gary Snyder wins prestigious Wallace Stevens Award

The Academy of American Poets is pleased to announce the winners of its annual collection of poetry prizes:

WALLACE STEVENS AWARD: GARY SNYDER
$100,000 for outstanding and proven mastery in the art of poetry.

Academy of American Poets Chancellor Jane Hirshfield praised his selection, saying:  “Gary Snyder has brought to American poetry a lyric poem whose subjects and views are objectively epic. His words look into the world and our human lives with acuity, affection, and the ethics of a ten-thousand-year perception. They have altered and marked both how we know and how we say.”

Nominated and elected by the Academy of American Poets Board of Chancellors.

Kitkitdizze, named for a local plant, is Snyder’s place on the San Juan Ridge, in the Yuba River Watershed.

Here’s an anecdote from the S.F. Chronicle from May 2010: “Inside word on Gary Snyder, from Nevada City neighbor Jeff Pelline, editor of the magazine Sierra FoodWineArt: Snyder’s homestead is on a remote ridge north of town. You’d expect him to own some macho dog, but actually his pet, Emi, is a standard apricot poodle. Snyder claims she has chased down bears.”

A video is here.

Speak Your Mind

Tell us what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • Follow us on PinterestFollow us on Pinterest