Today in our poetry news roundup, we bring you articles about the winner of this years Bollingen Prize, the further scandal to hit the Nobel Prize committee, and finally, the wine that has been specially developed for Burns night.
Prestigious Bollingen Prize Awarded to Charles Bernstein
The winner of this year’s Yale Bollingen Prize for American Poetry has been announced as Charles Bernstein. The prize was established in 1949 by Paul Mellon, and is given on a biennial basis. It is awarded by the Library at Yale University, through the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, to an American poet either during the last two years or as a lifetime achievement in the world of poetry. The award carries a cash prize of $165,000.
Bernstein, who is the 51st poet to win the award, joins a lengthy list of previous winners including Marianne Moore, W.H. Auden, Robert Frost, Wallace Stevens, Louise Gluck and Jean Valentine.
Bernstein has given many years to the literary world as a poet, translator and an educator. He has written numerous volumes of poetry. In 2006 he was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. He has also won a number of awards for his poetry over the years including the Munster Prize for International Poetry.
Nobel Winner Names leaked by Poet
Late last year the Nobel prize committee was rocked by accusations of rape that were made against the husband of one of the committee members. This was followed by his eventual conviction. He is now serving a jail sentence of 2 years and six months.
Now Katarina Frostenson, the poet, is set to leave the Nobel Prize committee after an internal investigation has discovered that she had previously leaked the names of prize winners. This is a serious breach of the security rules that surround the prize. The Academy have advised that they will pay a monthly pension worth $1400 and rent subsidies to the poet by way of a settlement.
No Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded last year due to the scandals surrounding the committee. It has been agreed that this year there will be two prizes awarded in the category.
Frostenson is not the only committee member who has left. There were resignations following the event at the end of last year. All of the positions have now been filled and the committee are looking to move forward and put these unfortunate events behind them.
Budget Supermarket get in on the Burns Night Act
A Scots winery, based in Perthshire, has created a win that they believe is the perfect accompaniment to the traditional Burns Night dish of Haggis. The Rose-style wine is named Gangs wi’ Haggis and costs £5.99 a bottle.
The drink is a blend of oak leaf and bramble and has been made by the Cairn o’Mohr winery. It has been made with local ingredients, matured for a full year and then bottled. It is said to have something of a spicy flavour with creamy notes. The wine has been specially developed by the husband and wife team at the winery who wanted something special to toast the poet Robert Burns on Burns night.
The wine is available in limited quantities in all 85 of the Aldi stores located in Scotland.
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