February 16 – Announcement that 300 poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge have been discovered.
February 17 – Sotheby's announce discovery of four Walt Whitman notebooks.
March 1 – The Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea (Wales) is opened by Jimmy Carter.
May 26 – Cannes Film Festival première of movie Dead Man, written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, about a man named William Blake on a trek through the American West who is taken as the resurrected Romantic poet by a character named Nobody.
Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:
Jennifer Harrison: Mosaics & Mirrors: Composite poems (Black Pepper)
Chris Mansell, Day Easy Sunlight Fine in Hot Collation (Penguin, Melbourne) ISBN 978-0-14-024540-0
Chris Wallace-Crabbe, Selected Poems 1956-1994, Oxford: Oxford University Press, Australia
Margaret Atwood, Morning in the Burned House, McClelland & Stewart
Anne Carson, Plainwater: Essays and Poetry, Knopf
Roy Miki, Random Access File, Canada
John Reibetanz, Morning Watch
Joe Rosenblatt, A Tentacled Mother. (in the original plus new sonnets) Exile.
Joe Rosenblatt,The Rosenblatt Reader. (selected poems and prose, 1962-1995) Exile.
Raymond Souster, No Sad Songs Wanted Here. Ottawa: Oberon Press.
Meena Alexander, River and Bridge ( Poetry in English ), Toronto: TSAR Press and New Delhi: Rupa, by an Indian writing living in and published in the United States and India
Sujata Bhatt, The Stinking Rose ( Poetry in English ), Carcanet Press and New Delhi: Penguin
Keki Daruwalla, A Summer of Tigers ( Poetry in English ), New Delhi: Indus
A. K. Ramanujan, The Collected Poems of A.K. Ramanujan ( Poetry in English ), Delhi: Oxford University Press; posthumously published
Sudeep Sen, Dali’s Twisted Hands ( Poetry in English), New York City: White Swan Books; Leeds: Peepal Tree, ISBN 0-948833-84-X
Tejdeep, Caught in a Stampede ( Poetry in English ), New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Private Limited
K. Satchidanandan, Summer Rain: Three Decades of Poetry, edited by R. D. Yuyutsu; New Delhi: Nirala Publishers
Ireland
Patrick Crotty (editor), editor, Modern Irish Poetry: An Anthology, Belfast, The Blackstaff Press Ltd., ISBN 0-85640-561-2
Gerald Dawe, Heart of Hearts, Oldcastle: The Gallery Press, ISBN 978-1-85235-154-0
John Montague, Collected Poems, including "Small Secrets", Oldcastle: The Gallery Press
Maurice Riordan, A Word from the Loki, including "Milk", "A Word from the Loki" and "Time Out"", Faber and Faber, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom
New Zealand
Fleur Adcock (New Zealand poet who moved to England in 1963) and Jacqueline Simms, editors, The Oxford Book of Creatures, verse and prose anthology, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Jenny Bornholdt, How We Met, New Zealand
Janet Charman, End of the Dry, Auckland: Auckland University Press
Robin Hyde, The Victory Hymn, 1935-1995, with an essay by Michele Leggott; Auckland: Holloway Press, New Zealand
Mark Williams and Michele Leggott, editors, Opening the Book : New Essays on New Zealand Writing Auckland: Auckland University Press, criticism
Fleur Adcock (New Zealand poet who moved to England in 1963) and Jacqueline Simms, editors, The Oxford Book of Creatures, verse and prose anthology, Oxford: Oxford University Press
James Berry, Hot Earth, Cold Earth
Alison Brackenbury, 1829, Carcanet Press, ISBN 978-1-85754-122-9
Gerry Cambridge, The Shell House, Scottish Cultural Press, ISBN 1-898218-34-X
Flora Garry, Collected poems
Tony Harrison, The Shadow of Hiroshima
Ted Hughes, New Selected Poems 1957–1994
Jan Kochanowski: Laments, a cycle of Polish Renaissance elegies, translated by Seamus Heaney and Stanisław Barańczak, Faber & Faber
Michael Longley, The Ghost Orchid
Derek Mahon, The Hudson Letter. Gallery Press
Sean O'Brien, Ghost Train (Oxford University Press)
Peter Reading, Collected Poems 1970–1984
Maurice Riordan, A Word from the Loki Faber and Faber, Irish poet published in the United Kingdom
Carol Rumens, Best China Sky
Labi Siffre, Blood on the Page
R.S. Thomas, No Truce with the Furies
Charles Tomlinson, Jubilation
Simon Armitage, Tony Harrison and Sean O'Brien, Penguin Modern Poets 5 (Penguin)
Eavan Boland, Carol Ann Duffy and Vicki Feaver, Penguin Modern Poets 2, Penguin
Roderick Watson, editor, The Poetry of Scotland: Gaelic, Scots and English, 1380–1980, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (anthology)
Stella Chipasula and Frank Chipasula, editors, The Heinemann book of African women's poetry, London: Heinemann (anthology)
Criticism, scholarship and biography in the United Kingdom
Robert F. Garratt, editor, Critical essays on Seamus Heaney, ISBN 0-7838-0004-5
Meena Alexander, River and Bridge, Toronto: TSAR Press and New Delhi: Rupa, by an Indian writing living in and published in the United States and India
Meena Alexander, River and Bridge, Toronto: TSAR Press and New Delhi: Rupa, by an Indian writing living in and published in the United States and India
Ralph Angel, Nether World
John Ashbery, Can You Hear, Bird?
Joseph Brodsky: On Grief and Reason: Essays, New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux Russian-American
Henri Cole, The Look of Things
Nicholas Coles & Peter Oresick, For a Living (University of Illinois Press)
Alice Fulton, Sensual Math
Michael S. Harper, Honorable Amendments
Fanny Howe, O'Clock
Walter K. Lew, editor, Premonitions: The Kaya Anthology of New Asian North American poetry, New York: Kaya Productions
James Merrill, A Scattering of Salts (his last book)
Carl Rakosi, Poems, 1923-1941
Mary Oliver, Blue Pastures
Michael Palmer, At Passages
Molly Peacock, Original Love
Carl Phillips, Cortége
Giorgos Seferis, Complete Poems (in English), translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard
Criticism, scholarship and biography in the United States
Helen Vendler, The Breaking of Style: Hopkins, Heaney, Graham, Harvard University Press
John Hollander, The Gazer's Spirit: Poems Speaking to Silent Works of Art, criticism
Richard Howard is the guest editor for The Best American Poetry 1995 (David Lehman, series editor). Howard changes the rules of inclusion for this year: "[P]oets whose work has appeared three or more times in this series are here and now ineligible, as are all seven former editors of the series." A total of 75 poems are included.
Poems from these 75 poets were in this year's anthology:
Aharon Shabtai, Ha-lev ("The Heart"), Hebrew
The Labourers of Herakles
Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:
Katrine Marie Guldager, Styrt, publisher: Gyldendal
Klaus Høeck:
1001 Digt, publisher: Gyldendal
Hommage, publisher: Basilisk
Andree Chedid, Par dela les mots (Lebanese resident of France, writing in French)
Michel Deguy, A ce qui n'en finite pas; France
Denise Desautels, Cimetières: La rage muette, autour de photographies de Monique Bertrand, Montréal: Éditions Dazibao; Canada
Claude Esteban, Quelqu'un commence à parler dans une chambre, Flammarion; France
Listed in alphabetical order by first name:
Amarjit Chandan, Jarhan, Aesthetic Publications, Ludhiana; Punjabi-language
Basudev Sunani, Aneka Kichhi Ghatibaara Achhi, Nuapada: Eeshan-Ankit Prakashani; Oraya-language
Chandrakanta Murasingh, Holong Kok Sao Bolong Bisingo, Agartala: Shyamlal Debbarma, Kokborok Sahitya Sanskriti Samsad; India, Kokborok-language
Debarati Mitra, Kavitasamagra, Kolkata: Ananda Publishers; Bengali-language
Dilip Chitre, Ekoon Kavita – 2, Mumbai: Popular Prakashan; Marathi-language
Kedarnath Singh, Uttar Kabir aur Anya Kavitayen, Delhi: Rajkamal Prakashan; Hindi
Namdeo Dhasal, Ya Sattet Jeev Ramat Nahi; Marathi-language
Nirupama Dutt, Ik Nadi Sanwali Jahi ("A Stream Somewhat Dark"); Panchkula: Aadhar Prakashan; Punjabi-language
Nirendranath Chakravarti, Shotyo Shelukash, Kolkata: Ananda Publishers; Bengali-language
Saroop Dhruv, Salagti Havao, Ahmedabad: Samvedan Sanskritic Manch, Ahmedabad; Gujarati-language
Udayan Vajpeyi; Hindi-language:
Kuchh Vakya, New Delhi: Vani Prakashan
Pagal Ganitagya Ki Kavitayen, New Delhi: Vani Prakashan
Matilde Camus, Vuelo de la mente ("Mind flight")
Stanisław Barańczak, Slon, traba i ojczyzna ("The Elephant, the Trunk, and the Polish Question"), light verse; Kraków: Znak; Poland
Mario Benedetti, El olvido está lleno de memoria ("Oblivion Is Full of Memory"), published in Spain, Uruguay
Christoph Buchwald, general editor, and Joachim Sartorius, guest editor, Jahrbuch der Lyrik 1995/96 ("Poetry Yearbook 1995/96"), publisher: Beck; anthology; Germany
Chen Kehua, Qiankantou shi ("Head-hunting Poems") Chinese (Taiwan)
Limaza tarakt al-hissan wahidan (Why did you leave the horse alone?), 1995. English translation 2006 by Jeffrey Sacks (ISBN 0976395010)
Awards and honors
Nobel prize: Seamus Heaney
C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry: Bruce Beaver - Anima and Other Poems
Dinny O'Hearn Poetry Prize: Selected poems 1956-1994 by Chris Wallace-Crabbe
Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry: Peter Boyle, Coming Home From the World
Mary Gilmore Prize: Jordie Albiston - Nervous Arcs
Gerald Lampert Award
Archibald Lampman Award
See 1995 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
Pat Lowther Award
Prix Alain-Grandbois
Cholmondeley Award: U.A. Fanthorpe, Christopher Reid, C. H. Sisson, Kit Wright
Eric Gregory Award: Colette Bryce, Sophie Hannah, Tobias Hill, Mark Wormald
Forward Poetry Prize Best Collection: Sean O'Brien, Ghost Train (Oxford University Press)
Forward Poetry Prize Best First Collection: Jane Duran, Breathe Now, Breathe (Enitharmon Press)
T. S. Eliot Prize (United Kingdom and Ireland): Mark Doty, My Alexandria
Whitbread Award for poetry: Bernard O’Donoghue, Gunpowder
Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize: Sandy Solomon, Pears, Lake, Sun
Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry: Maxine Kumin
AML Award for poetry to Marden J. Clark for "Snows"
Bernard F. Connors Prize for Poetry: Vijay Seshadri, "Lifeline"
Bollingen Prize: Kenneth Koch
National Book Award for poetry: Stanley Kunitz, Passing Through: The Later Poems
Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress: Robert Hass appointed
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Philip Levine, The Simple Truth
Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize: A.R. Ammons
Wallace Stevens Award: James Tate
Whiting Awards: Lucy Grealy, James L. McMichael, Mary Ruefle
Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets: Denise Levertov
New Zealand
Montana Book Award for Poetry: Michael Jackson, Pieces of Music
New Zealand Book Award for Poetry: Michele Leggott, Dia
Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:
January 28 – George Woodcock (born 1912), Canadian poet, biographer, academic and prominent anarchist
February 6 – James Merrill, 68, of a heart attack
April 14 – Brian Coffey (born 1905), Irish poet and publisher
April 22 – Jane Kenyon, 47, of leukemia
May 11 – David Avidan, 61, Israeli poet.
July 7 – Helene Johnson, after osteoporosis
July 16:
May Sarton, 83 (born 1912), American poet, novelist, and memoirist, of breast cancer
Stephen Spender 86, (born 1909), English poet and essayist, of a heart ailment
September 3 – Earle Birney, 91, Canadian poet
September 18 – Donald Davie, 73, of cancer
October 22 – Kingsley Amis, 73, after an accidental fall
November 5 – Essex Hemphill, 38, American poet and gay activist, from complications relating to AIDS
December 30 – Heiner Muller (born 1929), German
