Poet Philip Levine wins $100,000 prize

[September 13, 2013]  NEW YORK (AP) -- One of the country's most honored poets, Philip Levine, has received a $100,000 lifetime achievement prize.

The American Academy of Poets announced Thursday that Levine, a Pulitzer Prize winner and former U.S. poet laureate, has been given the Wallace Stevens Award.

The 85-year-old Levine is known for his detailed portraits of the working class. His books include "What Work Is" and "News of the World."

The academy awarded Patricia Smith's "Shoulda Been Jimi Savannah" the Lenore Marshall prize, worth $25,000, for the best book of poetry in 2012. Carolyn Forché received a $25,000 fellowship stipend and John Taylor won a translation award that includes a $25,000 stipend and $10,000 cash prize. Jillian Weise's "The Book of Goodbyes" was named last year's best second book of poetry, a $5,000 prize.

[Associated Press]

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