Poet Will Alexander receives $50,000 Jackson Prize

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Will Alexander, one of the country’s most imaginative and unpredictable poets, has won the 10th annual $50,000 Jackson Poetry Prize.

Poets & Writers, a non-profit literary resource that presents the Jackson award, told The Associated Press on Thursday that Alexander is being honoured for “his peerless inventiveness over the last three decades.” His nearly 30 books include “Compression and Purity” and “Towards the Primeval Lightning Field.” His works also include plays, novels and essays.

According to Poets & Writers, the Jackson prize is given “to an American poet of exceptional talent who deserves wider recognition.” Previous winners include Claudia Rankine and X.J. Kennedy.