[R. S. Gwynn]

XJ Kennedy wins $50,000 Jackson Poetry Prize

The Associated Press

UPDATED: 04/07/2015 10:34:45 AM EDT# COMMENTS






NEW YORK (AP) — X.J. Kennedy, a highly regarded poet, editor and educator, has won a $50,000 prize.

Kennedy, 85, is this year's winner of the Jackson Poetry Prize, Poets & Writers announced Tuesday. The Jackson prize is given to an American poet of "exceptional talent who deserves wider recognition."

Kennedy's many books include the collections "Nude Descending a Staircase," ''Cross Ties" and "The Lords of Misrule."

Previous winners of the Jackson prize include Elizabeth Alexander and Claudia Rankine. Poets & Writers is a nonprofit literary organization founded in 1970.