Speaking of institutions whose public confidence has plummeted in recent years....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick McRae
People who won a Nobel usually did so for a reason.
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Yes, but not always for the reason we might like to think (i.e., artistic merit/significance).
Entrusting your reading list to a parochial,
sex-scandal-coverup-tainted committee of eighteen Swedes—which only rarely includes poets among its honorees—is certainly an effective way to shorten your poetry reading list to a manageable length. But you'll be missing out on a lot of significant poets. Robert Frost was reportedly nominated 31 times and never made the cut, so I guess he's not eligible for the McRae Prize, either?
If you want to rely on prize committees to do your pre-screening for you, the Pulitzer Committee only honors Americans, but at least they pick a book of poetry to honor each and every year. Three per year, actually, since they also recognize two runners-up, one of which in 2019 was
Like by
A.E. Stallings, formerly a moderator of Eratosphere. She may indeed win a Nobel Prize someday, but don't wait until then to read her books.