Marie Ponsot Awarded $100,000 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize

Posted on March 22, 2013

The Poetry Foundation has named poet Marie Ponsot the winner of the 2013 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. The award carries a $100,000 cash prize. It is administered by Poetry magazine and given annually to an American poet.

John Barr, president of the Poetry Foundation, said in a statement, "How fitting that the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, named for poetry's greatest benefactor, should this year honor Marie Ponsot, a woman who has herself made such major contributions to American poetry."

Marie Ponsot has published six poetry collections, including The Bird Catcher (1998), which won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her latest poetry collection is Easy. Marie Ponsot has also translated over 30 books from French into English. Her bio can be found here.

A list of prior Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize recipients can be found here.

Photo: Knopf