Paisley Rekdal Wins Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award

Claremont Graduate University has honored Paisley Rekdal, Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Utah, with the prestigious Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award for her book, “West: A Translation.” The $100,000 award commends outstanding poetry volumes published in the preceding year, with a legacy that includes books by luminaries such as Henri Cole, Tom Sleigh, Patricia Smith and Ross Gay.

“I am extremely grateful for this gift of time and money, which the award both represents and grants,” said Rekdal. “But even more, I am grateful for the extraordinary validation this award gives me to be as ambitious as I can be as a poet.”

Rekdal is the author of four books of nonfiction and seven books of poetry, including “Nightingale,” “Appropriate: A Provocation,” and most recently, “West: A Translation.” She is the editor and creator of the digital archive projects West, Mapping Literary Utah, and Mapping Salt Lake City. Her work has received the Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an NEA Fellowship, Pushcart Prizes, the Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship, a Fulbright Fellowship, and various state arts council awards. As the former Utah poet laureate, she teaches at the U, where she directs the American West Center.

The 30th anniversary of the Kinglsey & Kate Tufts Poetry Awards underscores Claremont Graduate University’s dedication to fostering and honoring the literary arts. The awards stand as a beacon for emerging and established poets, contributing significantly to the vibrant tapestry of American poetry.

Read the full press release here.

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MEDIA CONTACTS
Jana Cunningham, University of Utah College of Humanities
jana.cunningham@utah.edu | 801-213-0866

Published February 12, 2024