David Ferry. Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations. University of Chicago Press

Lucia Perillo. On the Spectrum of Possible Deaths. Copper Canyon Press

Allan Peterson. Fragile Acts. McSweeney’s Books

D. A. Powell. Useless Landscape, or A Guide for Boys. Graywolf Press

A. E. Stallings. Olives. Triquarterly: Northwestern University Press

I have a lot of respect for this award, not in the least because I actually do respect and respect the work of critics and reviewers (just like I do editors and traditional publishers) as cultural gatekeepers.

Also, some fifteen years ago, I was watching the NBCC Award ceremony on C-SPAN2 and Frank Bidart came on and read his poem ‘Yoke.’ Magical stuff. Blew me away. He didn’t win, mind you. Charles Wright won that year.