2000 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature.
Events
- Griffin Poetry Prize is established, with one award given each year for the best work by a Canadian poet and one award given for best work in the English language internationally.
- February — Janice Mirikitani succeeds Lawrence Ferlinghetti as San Francisco's Poet Laureate
- April 17 - New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman appoints poet Gerald Stern to be the first Poet Laureate of New Jersey
- October 3 — Edward Lear's "The Owl and the Pussycat" named Britain's favorite children's poem in a BBC poll
- October 3 — Justin Trudeau quotes from Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods" at the funeral of his father, former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
- October 4 — National Poetry Day in Great Britain: 300 school children at the Royal Festival Hall along with 4,000 other people nationwide perform Agbabi's "Word," setting a new Guinness World Record for simultaneous mass performance of a poem
- Spike Milligan made an honorary knight
- In the film Pandaemonium, released this year, the lives of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in particular their collaboration on the "Lyrical Ballads," are discussed.
Works published in English
Australia
- Les Murray:
- * Learning Human: Selected Poems, Farrar Straus Giroux, also published as Learning Human, New Selected Poems, Carcanet, 2001shortlisted for the 2001 International Griffin Poetry Prize
- * An Absolutely Ordinary Rainbow
- Chris Wallace-Crabbe, The Poems, Brunswick: Gungurru
- Les Wicks, The Ways of Waves, Sidewalk
Canada
- Roo Borson, Introduction to the Introduction to Wang Wei, American-Canadian
- Clint Burnham, Buddyland
- Margaret Christakos:
- *Wipe Under A Love
- *Charisma
- George Elliott Clarke, Whylah Falls, Vancouver: Polestar, revised edition of book which originally appeared in 1990, Canada
- Louis Dudek, The Surface of Time. Montreal: Empyreal.
- Claire Harris, She, Trinidadian-born, Canadian
- Don McKay, Another Gravity
- John Pass, Water Stair Canada
- Anne Simpson, Light Falls Through You, winner of the Gerald Lampert Award and the Atlantic Poetry Prize), Canada
- Raymond Souster, Of Time & Toronto. Ottawa: Oberon Press.
Anthologies in Canada
- Ayanna Black, editor, Fiery Spirits & Voices: Canadian Writers of African Descent, Toronto: HarperPerennialCanada
- Wanda Campbell, editor, Susan Atkinson and Tanya Butler, assistant editors, Hidden Rooms: Early Canadian Women Poets, London, Ontario: Canadian Poetry Press
- Sophia Kaszuba, Sian Meikle, and Ian Lancashire, editors, Canadian Poets University of Toronto English Library, including these poets:
India, in English
- Sujata Bhatt, Augatora, Carcanet Press
- Keki Daruwalla, Night River, New Delhi: Rupa & Co.
- Ranjit Hoskote, The Cartographer's Apprentice,, Mumbai: The Pundole Art Gallery
- Tabish Khair, Where Parallel Lines Meet, New Delhi: Penguin-Viking, ; New York City: Allen Lane,
- Sudeep Sen:
- * Almanac, Columbia: University of South Carolina
- * Lines of Desire, Columbia: University of South Carolina
- * A Blank Letter, Dhaka: The High Commission of India
- K. Satchidanandan, Imperfect and Other New Poems, Kozhikode, Kerala: Olive Publications
- Dilip Chitre, No Moon Monday on the River Karha, Pune: Vijaya Chitre
New Zealand
- Fleur Adcock, Poems 1960–2000, Newcastle upon Tyne: Bloodaxe Books
- Nick Ascroft, From the Author Of
- Jenny Bornholdt, These Days
- Glenn Colquhoun, An Explanation of Poetry to My Father
- Paula Green, Chrome
- Murray Edmond, Laminations
- Andrew Johnston, Birds of Europe
- Cilla McQueen, Markings, poetry and drawings, Otago University Press
- Stephanie de Montalk, Animals Indoors, Victoria University Press
Anthologies in New Zealand
- Jenny Bornholdt and Gregory O'Brien, editors, My Heart Goes Swimming: New Zealand Love Poems, Random House New Zealand,
- Alan Brunton, Murray Edmond, Michele Leggott, editors, Big Smoke: New Zealand Poems 1960–1975, Auckland: Auckland University Press
- Lauris Edmond, editor, New Zealand Love Poems: An Oxford Anthology, posthumous
United Kingdom
- Fleur Adcock, Poems 1960–2000, Newcastle upon Tyne: Bloodaxe Books
- Gerry Cambridge, The Praise of Swans, Shoestring Press,
- Robert Crawford and Mick Imlah, editors, The New Penguin Book of Scottish Verse, London: Allen Lane, Penguin Press
- Carol Ann Duffy, The Oldest Girl in the World, Faber and Faber
- U. A. Fanthorpe, Consequences
- James Fenton: The Strength of Poetry: Oxford Lectures
- James Fenton, Thonner an Thon: an Ulster-Scots collection, Ulster Scots dialect poet living and published in Northern Ireland
- Elaine Feinstein, Gold, Carcanet
- Thom Gunn:
- * Boss Cupid
- * Collected Poems
- Glyn Maxwell, The Boys at Twilight: Poems, 1990–1995, Houghton Mifflin, Briton and poetry editor of The New Republic living in the United States
- Craig Raine, A la Recherche du Temps Perdu
- Peter Reading, Marfan
- Maurice Riordan, Irish poet living and published in the United Kingdom:
- * Floods, Faber and Faber
- * Editor, with Jon Turney, A Quark for Mister Mark: 101 Poems about Science, anthology, Faber and Faber
- Jo Shapcott, Her Book
- Sulpicia, The Poems of Sulpicia, ancient Roman poet translated by John Heath-Stubbs
United States
- John Ashbery:
- * Your Name Here
- * As Umbrellas Follow Rain
- Bei Dao, Unlock, English translation by Eliot Weinberger & Iona Man-Cheong
- Edward Brathwaite, Words Need Love Too, Barbadan poet living in the United States
- Joseph Brodsky: Collected Poems in English, 1972–1999, edited by Ann Kjellberg, New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux Russian-American; Farrar, Straus & Giroux
- Gwendolyn Brooks, In Montgomery
- Anne Carson, Men in the Off Hours, Knopf
- Paul Celan,
- Anita Endreszze, Throwing Fire at the Sun, Water at the Moon, combination of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona Press
- Michael S. Harper, Songlines in Michaeltree: New and Collected Poems
- Fanny Howe, Fanny Howe: Selected Poems
- Kenneth Koch, New Addresses: Poems, Knopf
- Stanley Kunitz, The Collected Poems, Norton
- Stanley Lombardo, Odyssey by Homer, Hackett
- Glyn Maxwell, The Boys at Twilight: Poems, 1990–1995, Houghton Mifflin, Briton and poetry editor of The New Republic living in the United States
- Constance Merritt, A Protocol for Touch: Vassar Miller Prize in Poetry, selected by Eleanor Wilner
- W. S. Merwin, translation, Purgatorio from The Divine Comedy of Dante; New York: Knopf;
- Grazyna Miller, Sull'onda del respiro
- Michael O'Brien, Sills: Selected Poems, Zoland
- Mary Oliver, The Leaf and the Cloud
- Grace Paley, Begin Again: Collected Poems
- Michael Palmer, The Promises of Glass
- Carl Phillips, Pastoral
- Robert Pinsky, Jersey Rain
- Michael Ryan, A Difficult Grace: On Poets, Poetry, and Writing
- Gjertrud Schnackenberg:
- * The Throne of Labdacus, Farrar, Straus & Giroux
- * Supernatural Love: Poems 1976–1992,
- Derek Walcott, The Prodigal
- Louis Zukofsky, Wesleyan University Press begins publishing The Wesleyan Centennial Edition of the Complete Critical Writings of Louis Zukofsky
Criticism, scholarship and biography in the United States
- John Ashbery, Other Traditions, thoughts on six poets ; from his Charles Eliot Norton Lectures
- Alison Lurie, Familiar Spirits: A Memoir of James Merrill and David Jackson
- Helen Vendler, Seamus Heaney,
Anthologies in the United States
- Stephen Berg, David Bonanno, and Arthur Vogelsang, editors, The Body Electric, anthology of poetry published in The American Poetry Review, 1972–1999., 820 pages
- American Poetry: The Twentieth Century, two volumes, The Library of America
- Cary Nelson, editor, Anthology of Modern American Poetry, Oxford University Press
- Jeffrey Paine, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Sven Birkerts, Joseph Brodsky, Carolyn Forché, and Helen Vendler, editors, The Poetry of Our World: an International Anthology of Contemporary Poetry, New York: HarperCollins
Poets appearing in ''The Best American Poetry 2000''
- Kim Addonizio
- Pamela Alexander
- A. R. Ammons
- Julianna Baggott
- Erin Belieu
- Richard Blanco
- Janet Bowdan
- Grace Butcher
- Lucille Clifton
- Billy Collins
- Jim Daniels
- Gregory Djanikian
- Denise Duhamel
- Christopher Edgar
- Karl Elder
- Lynn Emanuel
- B. H. Fairchild
- Charles Fort
- Frank X. Gaspar
- Elton Glaser
- Ray Gonzalez
- Jennifer Grotz
- Thom Gunn
- Mark Halliday
- Barbara Hamby
- Forrest Hamer
- Brenda Hillman
- Marsha Janson
- Mark Jarman
- Patricia Spears Jones
- Rodney Jones
- Donald Justice
- Olena Kalytiak Davis
- David Kirby
- Carolyn Kizer
- Lynne Knight
- Yusef Komunyakaa
- Thomas Lux
- Lynne McMahon
- W. S. Merwin
- Susan Mitchell
- Jean Nordhaus
- Mary Oliver
- Michael Palmer
- Paul Perry
- Carl Phillips
- Robert Pinsky
- Donald Platt
- Stanley Plumly
- Lawrence Raab
- Thomas Rabbitt
- Mary Jo Salter
- Rebecca Seiferle
- Brenda Shaughnessy
- Laurie Sheck
- Reginald Shepherd
- Rudy Delgado Jr.
- Cathy Song
- Gary Soto
- Gabriel Spera
- A. E. Stallings
- Susan Stewart
- Adrienne Su
- Pamela Sutton
- Dorothea Tanning
- Natasha Trethewey
- Quincy Troupe
- Reetika Vazirani
- Paul Violi
- Derek Walcott
- Richard Wilbur
- Susan Wood
- John Yau
- Dean Young
Other in English
- Edward Brathwaite, Words Need Love Too, Barbadan poet living in the United States
- Moya Cannon, Oar, Oldcastle: The Gallery Press, Ireland
- Claire Harris, She, Trinidadian-born, Canadian
Works published in other languages
China
- Yang Ke, editor, 2000 Yearbook of New Chinese Poetry
- Yu Jian, China:
- *Shige • Biantiaoji
- *Yu Jian de shi
Denmark
- Klaus Høeck, fra Hjem, publisher: Gyldendal; Denmark
- Henrik Nordbrandt:
- * Drømmebroer, winner of the Nordic Council's Literature Prize
- * Egne digte, Copenhagen: Gylendal, 289 pages
French language
Canada, in French
- Denise Desautels, Tombeau de Lou, Montréal: Le Noroît
- Pierre Labrie, À tout hasard
- Madeleine Ouellette-Michalska, L'Amérique un peu/Au bord du rouge absolu, with James Sacré; Montréal: Trait d'union
- Jean Royer, Le visage des mots, Trois-Rivières: Écrits des Forges//Marchainville: Proverbe
France
- Andre du Bouchet, L'emportement du muet
- Seyhmus Dagtekin, Les chemins du nocturne, publisher: Le Castor Astral
- Abdellatif Laabi, Poèmes périssables, La Différence, coll. Clepsydre, Paris, Moroccan author writing in French and published in France
- Jean-Claude Pinson, Fado
- Jacqueline Risset, Les instants
India
Bengali
- Joy Goswami:
- * Jogotbari, Kolkata: Ananda Publishers,
- * Kabita-Songroho, Vol. 3, Kolkata: Ananda Publishers,
- Debarati Mitra:
- * Tunnur Computer, Kolkata: Ananda Publishers
- * Srestha Kavita, Kolkata: Dey's Publishing
- Nirendranath Chakravarti; Bengali-language:
- * Shakulley Teenjon, Kolkata: Ananda Publishers
- * Joler Jailkhana Theke, Kolkata: Ananda Publishers
Hindi
- Anamika, Kavita Mein Aurat, Delhi: Itihas Bodh
- Teji Grover, Ant Ki Kucch Aur Kavitayen, New Delhi: Vani Prakashan
- Udayan Vajpeyi, Vie Invisible, translated and published in France; Lignon: Cheyne Editeur;
Other in India
- Amarjit Chandan; Punjabi-language:
- * Gurhti, Navyug, New Delhi
- * Anaran vala Vehra, Kitab Tirinjan, Lahore
- Chandrakant Shah, also known as Chandu Shah, Blue Jeans, Mumbai: Image Publications; Gujarati-language
- Jiban Narah, Ta-Ri-Ri, Guwahati, Assam: Bak; Indian, Assamese-language
- K. Satchidanandan, Sambhashanathinu Oru Sramam, ; Malayalam-language
- K. Siva Reddy, Kavisamayam, Vijayawada: Sahiti Mitrulu; Telugu-language
- Kutti Revathi, Poonaiyai pola alaiyum velicham,, Chennai: Thamizhini
- S. Joseph, Karutha Kallu, winner of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award; Kottayam: DC Books,
- Prathibha Nandakumar, Aha! Purushakaram!, Srirangapattana, Mandya district, Karnataka: Nelamane Prakashana
- Salma, Oru Maalaiyum Innoru Maalaiyum, Nagercoil: Kalachuvadu Pathippagam
- Varavara Rao, Unnadedo Unnattu ; Telugu-language
Bangladesh
- Rahman Henry, Prokrito Saros Urey Jae, A Book of Poetry in Bengali, Shraban, Shahbag, Dhaka. Bangladesh.
Poland
- Leszek Engelking, I inne wiersze Poland
- Czesław Miłosz, To ; Kraków: Znak
- Eugeniusz Tkaczyszyn-Dycki, Przewodnik dla bezdomnych niezależnie od miejsca zamieszkania
- Jan Twardowski, Elementarz księdza Twardowskiego dla najmłodszego, średniaka i starszego, Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie
Serbia
- Dejan Stojanović:
- * Znak i njegova deca, Prosveta, Beograd
- * Oblik, Gramatik, Podgorica, Montenegro
- * Tvoritelj, Narodna knjiga, Alfa, Beograd
- * Krugovanje, Third Edition, Narodna knjiga, Alfa, Beograd
Other
- Christoph Buchwald, general editor, and Ludwig Harig, guest editor, Jahrbuch der Lyrik 2001, publisher: Beck; anthology
- Matilde Camus, Prisma de emociones, Spain
- Faruk Šehić, Pjesme u Nastajanju, Bosnia
- Maria Luisa Spaziani, La freccia, Italy
- Yang Ke, editor, 2000 Yearbook of New Chinese Poetry Zhongguo xinshi nianjian, China
Awards and honors
Australia
- C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry: John Millett, Iceman
- Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry: Jennifer Maiden, Mines
- Mary Gilmore Prize: Lucy Dougan, Memory Shell
Canada
- Gerald Lampert Award: Shawna Lemay, All the God-Sized Fruit
- Archibald Lampman Award: Stephanie Bolster, Two Bowls of Milk
- Atlantic Poetry Prize: Ken Babstock, Mean
- 2000 Governor General's Awards: Don McKay, Another Gravity ; Normand de Bellefeuille, La Marche de l'aveugle sans son chien
- Pat Lowther Award: Esta Spalding, Lost August
- Prix Alain-Grandbois: Normand de Bellefeuille, La Marche de l'aveugle sans son chien
- Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize: Lorna Crozier, What the Living Won't Let Go
- Prix Émile-Nelligan: Tania Langlais, Douze bêtes aux chemises de l'homme
New Zealand
- Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement:
- Montana New Zealand Book Awards :
- * First-book award for poetry: Glenn Colquhoun, The Art of Walking Upright, Steele Roberts
- * A.W. Reed Lifetime Achievement Award: Allen Curnow
United Kingdom
- Cholmondeley Award: Alistair Elliot, Michael Hamburger, Adrian Henri, Carole Satyamurti
- Eric Gregory Award: Eleanor Margolies, Antony Rowland, Antony Dunn, Karen Goodwin, Clare Pollard
- Forward Poetry Prize Best Collection: Michael Donaghy, Conjure
- Forward Poetry Prize Best First Collection: Andrew Waterhouse, In
- Samuel Johnson Prize: David Cairns, Berlioz: Volume 2
- Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry: Edwin Morgan
- T. S. Eliot Prize : Michael Longley, The Weather in Japan
- Whitbread Award for poetry: John Burnside, The Asylum Dance
United States
- Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize awarded to Quan Barry for Asylum
- Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry, Eleanor Ross Taylor
- Bernard F. Connors Prize for Poetry, Corey Marks, "Renunciation", and Christopher Patton, "Broken Ground"
- Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry, David Ferry for Of No Country I Know: New and Selected Poems and Translations
- Brittingham Prize in Poetry, Rudy Delgado Jr., A Path Between Houses
- Frost Medal: Anthony Hecht
- National Book Award for poetry: Lucille Clifton, Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems 1988–2000
- Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress: Stanley Kunitz appointed
- Poet Laureate of Virginia: Grace Simpson, two year appointment 2000 to 2002
- Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: C.K. Williams, Repair
- Robert Fitzgerald Prosody Award: T. V. F. Brogan
- Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize: Carl Dennis
- Wallace Stevens Award: Frank Bidart
- Whiting Awards: Albert Mobilio, James Thomas Stevens, Claude Wilkinson
- William Carlos Williams Award: Kathleen Peirce, The Oval Hour, Judge: Jean Valentine
- Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets: Lyn Hejinian
Deaths
- January 2 – Roland Flint, United States, 66, of cancer
- January 22 – Anne Hébert, Canada, French language, 83
- April 21 – Al Purdy, Canada, 81, of lung cancer
- April 21 – Douglas Oliver, United Kingdom
- May 14 – Karl Shapiro, United States, 86
- September 25 – R.S. Thomas, 87, Anglo-Welsh poet and clergyman
- June 9 – Ernst Jandl, Austrian poet, author and translator
- June 26 – Judith Wright, United States, 85, of a heart attack
- July 13 – Alex Derwent Hope, 92, poet
- September 22 – Yehuda Amichai, Israeli poet
- November 29 – William Scammell
- December 3 – Gwendolyn Brooks, 83, of cancer
- December 20 – Adrian Henry
- Date not known:
- * Edgar Bowers, 75, of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
- * John Bruce, Canada
- * Lauris Edmond, New Zealand
- * Libby Scheier, Canada