By Dennis Abrams
This morning, the National Book Foundation continued it four-day release of the “longlist” in four categories by announcing the 10 finalist for the National Book Award in poetry.
Although two of the names, the filmmaker and writer and NPR regular Andrei Codrescu, and three-time NBA finalist Frank Bidart, are relatively well-known, nine of the ten poets on the list are receiving their first recognition from the National Book Awards.
The 2013 Longlist for Poetry:
Frank Bidart, Metaphysical Dog (FSG)
Roger Bonair-Agard, Bury My Clothes (Haymarket)
Lucie Brock-Broido, Stay, Illusion (Knopf)
Andrei Codrescu, So Recently Rent a World: New and Selected Poems (Coffee House)
Brenda Hillman, Seasonal Works with Letters on Fire (Wesleyan University)
Adrian Matejka, The Big Smoke (Penguin)
Diana Raptosh, American Amnesiac (Etruscan)
Matt Rasmussen, Black Aperture (Louisiana State University)
Martha Ronk, Transfer of Qualities (Omnidawn)
Mary Szybist, Incarnadine: Poems (Graywolf)
The five finalists will be announced on October 16th. Winners will be announced on November 20th.