| Year | Author | Cover | Title | Judge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Jacquelyn Pope |  |
Watermark | Marie Ponsot |
| 2005 | Sigman Byrd |  |
Under the Wanderer’s Star | Gerald Stern |
| 2006 | Steve Fellner |  |
Blind Date with Cavafy | Denise Duhamel |
| 2007 | Karin Randolph |
|
Either She Was | David Shapiro |
| 2008 | Michael Rerick |  |
In Ways Impossible to Fold | Thylias Moss |
| 2009 | Neil de la Flor |  |
Almost Dorothy | Forrest Gander |
| 2010 | Justin Petropoulos |  |
Eminent Domain | Anne Waldman |
| 2011 | Meredith Cole |  |
Miniatures | Alicia Ostriker |
| 2012 | Jason McCall |  |
Dear Hero, | Cornelius Eady |
| 2013 | Tom Beckett |  |
Dipstick (Diptych) | Charles Bernstein |
| 2014 | Christina Olivares |  |
No Map of the Earth Includes Stars | Brenda Hillman |
| 2015 | Tana Jean Welch |  |
Latest Volcano | Stephanie Strickland |
| 2016 | Robert Gibb |  |
After | Mark Doty |
| 2017 | Geoffrey O’Brien |  |
The Blue Hill | Meena Alexander |
| 2018 | Lynne Thompson |  |
Fretwork | Jane Hirshfield |
| 2019 | Gail Newman |  |
Blood Memory | Marge Piercy |
| 2020 | Tony Trigilio |  |
Proof Something Happened | Susan Howe |
| 2021 | Joanne D. Dwyer |  |
Rasa | David Lehman |
| 2022 | Brian Cochran |  |
Translation Zone | John Yau |
| 2023 | Liane Strauss |  |
The Flaws in the Story | Mary Jo Bang |
| 2024 | Xiaoqiu Qiu |  |
The Other Side of Ocean | John Keene |
| 2025 | Marjorie Stein |  |
unRavel | Elaine Equ |
| Judge | Year | Biographical Note |
|---|---|---|
| Marie Ponsot | 2004 | Marie Ponsot (1921–2019) was an acclaimed American poet and translator known for her elegant formalism and luminous, philosophical lyric voice. |
| Gerald Stern | 2005 | Gerald Stern (1925–2022) was a National Book Award–winning poet whose exuberant, grief‑infused work made him one of America’s most beloved voices. |
| Denise Duhamel | 2006 | Denise Duhamel is a poet celebrated for her witty, feminist, pop‑culture‑driven work and her inventive use of form. |
| David Shapiro | 2007 | David Shapiro (1947–2024) was a poet, critic, and art historian whose work blended New York School playfulness with philosophical depth. |
| Thylias Moss | 2008 | Thylias Moss is a poet and multimedia artist known for her inventive language, explorations of identity, and boundary‑breaking forms. |
| Forrest Gander | 2009 | Forrest Gander is a Pulitzer Prize–winning poet whose work is rooted in ecology, intimacy, and cross‑cultural connection. |
| Anne Waldman | 2010 | Anne Waldman is a poet, performer, and activist known for her visionary energy and leadership in the Outrider experimental tradition. |
| Alicia Ostriker | 2011 | Alicia Ostriker is a major American poet and critic whose work explores feminism, spirituality, and the politics of everyday life. |
| Cornelius Eady | 2012 | Cornelius Eady is a poet and playwright known for his musical, socially engaged work and for co‑founding Cave Canem. |
| Charles Bernstein | 2013 | Charles Bernstein is a leading figure in Language poetry, known for his sharp wit, formal experimentation, and cultural critique. |
| Brenda Hillman | 2014 | Brenda Hillman is an award‑winning poet whose work blends activism, mysticism, and formal innovation. |
| Stephanie Strickland | 2015 | Stephanie Strickland is a poet and digital literature pioneer whose work explores technology, embodiment, and layered textuality. |
| Mark Doty | 2016 | Mark Doty is a National Book Award–winning poet known for his luminous, compassionate explorations of beauty, loss, and queer life. |
| Meena Alexander | 2017 | Meena Alexander (1951–2018) was a poet and scholar whose work braided migration, memory, and the complexities of identity. |
| Jane Hirshfield | 2018 | Jane Hirshfield is a widely honored poet whose work is marked by clarity, compassion, and philosophical depth. |
| Marge Piercy | 2019 | Marge Piercy is a poet and novelist known for her feminist vision, political engagement, and emotionally resonant storytelling. |
| Susan Howe | 2020 | Susan Howe is a groundbreaking poet whose work merges archival research, visual poetics, and American history. |
| David Lehman | 2021 | David Lehman is a poet, critic, and longtime editor of The Best American Poetry, known for his wit and intellectual range. |
| John Yau | 2022 | John Yau is a poet, critic, and curator whose work explores perception, identity, and the boundaries of language. |
| Mary Jo Bang | 2023 | Mary Jo Bang is an award‑winning poet known for her inventive, emotionally charged work and her acclaimed translations. |
| John Keene | 2024 | John Keene is a writer and translator whose work spans genres and interrogates history, language, and Black experience. |
| Elaine Equi | 2025 | Elaine Equi is a poet known for her concise, witty, and sharply observant work rooted in urban life and pop culture. |
