NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Poet is to receive an Anisfeld-Wolf Award for lifetime achievement. Komunyakaa, 77, is known for such collections as 鈥淣eon Vernacular鈥� and for exploring race, music and his Vietnam War experiences.
Announced Thursday, the Anisfeld-Wolf prizes are presented by and honor literature that 鈥渃onfronts racism and celebrates diversity.鈥�
鈥淜omunyakaa has shaped contemporary poetry with a voice that is both unflinching and deeply evocative,鈥� reads a statement from the foundation.
Danzy Senna's 鈥淐olored Television,鈥� a satire about an author attempting to turn a failed novel into a TV series, won for fiction. The nonfiction prize went to John Swanson Jacobs' 鈥淭he United States Governed By Six Hundred Thousand Despots: A True Story of Slavery; A Rediscovered Narrative, with a Full Biography,鈥� and the poetry award was given to Janie Harrington's 鈥淵ard Show.鈥� Tessa Hulls' 鈥淔eeding Ghosts鈥� won for best memoir.
The winners will be formally honored at a ceremony in September.
The awards were established in 1935 by poet and philanthropist Edith Anisfeld Wolf. Previous recipients include , and
The Associated Press
