January 29 – Poet Dana Gioia, who had retired early from his career as a corporate executive at General Foods to write full-time, becomes chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, the United States government's arts agency.February 12 – After First Lady Laura Bush invites a number of poets to the White House for this date, one of them, Sam Hamill, starts organizing a protest in which poets would bring anti-war poems. The conference is postponed, but Hamill organizes a "Poets Against the War" Web site with contributions from others. More than 5,000 poems are contributed, including work by John Balaban, Gregory Orr, Rita Dove, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Adrienne Rich, Stanley Kunitz, Marilyn Nelson, Jay Parini, Jamaica Kincaid, Grace Paley and U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins. Also on the Web site, W. S. Merwin contributes the statement: "To arrange a war in order to be re-elected outdoes even the means employed in the last presidential election. Mr. Bush and his plans are a greater danger to the United States than Saddam Hussein." The new group, "Poets Against the War", organizes poetry readings for February 12 across the country, demonstrating the strong links between many established poets and left-wing pacifism.July 2 – In the aftermath of public controversy ignited by state poet laureate Amiri Baraka (b. 1934) reading his incendiary and anti-Semitic poem "Somebody Blew Up America" about the September 11th Attacks, and Baraka's subsequent refusals to resign from the position, New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey signs legislation abolishing the post of Poet Laureate of New Jersey.Early November – Carl Rakosi celebrates his 100th birthday with friends at the San Francisco Public Library.The Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry is opened at Queens University, Belfast, this year. It houses the Heaney Media Archive, a unique record of Heaney's entire oeuvre, as well as a full catalogue of his radio and television presentations. This same year Heaney decides to lodge a substantial portion of his literary archive at Emory University.Call: Review, an American little magazine, is founded by poet John Most.Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately:
Judith Beveridge, Wolf Notes, winner of the 2004 Arts Queensland Judith Wright Calanthe AwardPam Brown, Dear Deliria (New & Selected Poems), winner of the 2004 NSW Premier's Award for Poetry.Laurie Duggan, MangrovesJohn Kinsella, Peripheral LightAlison Croggon, The Common Flesh: Poems 1980–2002, Arc, ISBN 1-900072-72-6Geoff Page, editor The Indigo Book of Modern Australian Sonnets, Indigo (anthology)Chris Wallace-Crabbe, A Representative Human, Brunswick: Gungurru PressDerek Beaulieu, with wax (Coach House Books) ISBN 978-1-55245-118-2George Bowering, Baseball: A Poem in the Magic Number 9 (Coach House Books) ISBN 978-1-55245-123-6Di Brandt, Now You Care (Coach House Books) ISBN 978-1-55245-127-4Anne Compton, Opening the IslandJoe Denham, FluxJill Hartman, A Painted Elephant (Coach House Books) ISBN 978-1-55245-117-5Raymond Knister, After Exile. complete poems compiled by Gregory Betts (Exile, 2003)Dennis Lee, Un. Toronto: Anansi.Tim Lilburn, Kill-site, winner of the Governor General's AwardDon McKay, Varves, a chapbookW.W.E. Ross, Irrealities, Sonnets & Laconics. (Exile Editions, 2003) ISBN 978-1-55096-561-2Anne Simpson Loop, shortlisted for the 2003 Governor General's Award, winner of the 2004 Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize, ISBN 0-7710-8075-1Raymond Souster, Twenty-three New Poems. Ottawa: Oberon Press.Nathalie Stephens, Paper City (Coach House Books) ISBN 978-1-55245-126-7Suzanne Zelazo, Parlance (Coach House Books) ISBN 978-1-55245-128-1Hemant Divate, Virus Alert, translated from the original Marathi language poetry- by Dilip Chitre; Mumbai : PoetrywalaJerry Pinto, Asylum and Other Poems ( Poetry in English ), Allied Publishers, ISBN 81-7764-527-7Sudeep Sen:Distracted Geography: An Archipelago of Intent ( Poetry in English ), Wings Press, ISBN 0-930324-95-1; Leeds: Peepal Tree, ISBN 1-900715-34-1; (reprinted 2004, New Delhi : Indialog Publications, 2004, ISBN 978-1-900715-34-8)Prayer Flag ( Poetry in English ) with a compact disc and photographs; New York : Wings Press, 2003, ISBN 0-930324-97-8; Leeds: Peepal Tree, ISBN 1-900715-12-0Sachin Ketkar, A Dirge for the Dead Dog and other Incantations( Poetry in English ), New Delhi : Sanbun PublishersAjmer Rode, Selected Poems, by a Punjabi ; Third Eye Publications, ISBN 0-919581-76-5Ireland
Rosita Boland, Dissecting the Heart, Oldcastle: The Gallery Press, ISBN 978-1-85235-344-5Ciaran Carson, Breaking News, Oldcastle: The Gallery Press, ISBN 978-1-85235-340-7Michael Coady, One Another, (poems and prose), Oldcastle: The Gallery Press, ISBN 978-1-85235-357-5Gerald Dawe, Lake Geneva, Oldcastle: The Gallery Press, ISBN 978-1-85235-342-1New Zealand
Jenny Bornholdt, SummerRobin Hyde, Young Knowledge: the poems of Robin Hyde, edited and introduced by Michele Leggott, Auckland: Auckland University Press, posthumousPoets in Best New Zealand Poems
Poems from these 25 poet s were selected by Elizabeth Smither for Best New Zealand Poems 2002, published online this year:
Gerry Cambridge, Madame Fi Fi's Farewell and other poems, Luath Press, ISBN 1-84282-005-2Vahni Capildeo, No Traveller Returns, Caribbean poetCiarán Carson, Breaking News, Gallery Press, Wake Forest University Press, awarded the 2003 Forward Prize for Best Poetry CollectionCarol Ann Duffy, The Good Child's Guide to Rock N Roll, Faber and Faber (children's poetry)James Fenton, The Love Bomb, verse written as a libretto for a composer who rejected it; Penguin / Faber and FaberLavinia Greenlaw, Minsk, Faber and FaberPeter Redgrove, SheenSimawe, Saadi, editor, Iraqi Poetry Today, London: King's College, ISBN 0-9533824-6-XCriticism, scholarship and biography in the United Kingdom
R. F. Foster, W. B. Yeats: A Life, Vol. II: The Arch-Poet 1915–1939, Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-818465-4Matthew Campbell, editor, The Cambridge Companion to Contemporary Irish Poetry, Cambridge University PressDick Allen, The Day Before: New Poems (Sarabande Books)Charles Bukowski, sifting through the madness for the Word, the line, the way (Ecco)Henri Cole, Middle Earth (Farrar, Straus & Giroux); a New York Times "notable book of the year"Cid Corman, Now/NowAnnie Finch, CalendarsJohn Hollander, Picture WindowWilliam Logan, Macbeth in VeniceHoward Nemerov, The Selected Poems of Howard Nemerov, edited by Daniel Anderson (Swallow/Ohio University) published posthumously); a New York Times "notable book of the year"Mary Oliver, Owls and Other Fantasies: poems and essaysJames Reiss, Riff on Six: New and Selected PoemsKenneth Rexroth, Complete Poems (posthumous)Margaret Reynolds, The Sappho History (scholarship), Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 978-0-333-97170-3 ISBN 0-333-97170-1C. J. Sage, editor, And We The Creatures: Fifty-one Contemporary American Poets on Animal Rights and Appreciation (Dream Horse Press)Charles Simic, The Voice at 3:00 a.m.: Selected Late & New Poems (Harvest Books)(Harcourt); a New York Times "notable book of the year"Tracy K. Smith, The Body's Question won the 2002 Cave Canem Prize for best first book by an African American poet (Graywolf Press)Rosmarie Waldrop, Love, Like Pronouns (Omnidawn Publishing)William Carlos Williams and Louis Zukofsky, The Correspondence of William Carlos Williams & Louis Zukofsky, edited by Barry Ahearn (Wesleyan University Press)Kirby Wright, Before the City (Lemon Shark Press); winner of the San Diego Book Award for PoetryThe 75 poets included in The Best American Poetry 2003, edited by David Lehman, co-edited this year by Yusef Komunyakaa:
Seyhmus Dagtekin, Couleurs démêlées du ciel, publisher: L'Harmattan; Kurdish Turkish poet writing in FrenchAbdellatif Laabi, Moroccan author writing in French:L'automne promet, La Différence, coll. Clepsydre, ParisLes Fruits du corps, La Différence, coll. Clepsydre, ParisŒuvre poétique, La Différence, coll. Œuvre complète, ParisDenise Desautels, La marathonienne, avec estampes de Maria Cronopoulos, Montréal: Éditions de la courte échelle2003 * Jean Royer, Demeures du silence, Trois-Rivières: Écrits des Forges / Esch-sur-Alzette: Éditions PhiChristoph Buchwald, general editor, and Michael Krueger, guest editor, Jahrbuch der Lyrik 2004 ("Poetry Yearbook 2004"), publisher: Beck; anthologyDaniel Falb, Daniela Seel, and Andrew Potterof, die räumung dieser parks ("the clearance of these parks"), KookbooksBjoern Kuligk and Jan Wagner, editors, Lyrik von Jetzt ("Poetry of Now"), publisher: Dumont Verlag, featuring poetry by 74 authors born since 1965 (Lyrik von Jetzt 2) followed in 2008Chandan Chowdhury, Jabe he majhi, diksonnopur, Balaka prakash, Chittagong, BangladeshIn each section, listed in alphabetical order by first name:
Debarati Mitra, Khonpa Bhare Achhe Tarar Dhuloy, Kolkata: Ananda Publishers; India, Bengali-languageMallika Sengupta:Purushke Lekha Chithi, Kolkata: Ananda PublishersEditor, Dui Banglar Meyeder Shreshtha kabita, Kolkata: UpasanaNirendranath Chakravarti, Bhalobasha Mondobasha, Kolkata: Ananda Publishers; Bengali-languageUdaya Narayana Singh, Kham-kheyali, Kolkata: Ebang MushayeraGagan Gill, Thapak Thapak Dil Thapak Thapa, New Delhi: Rajkamal Prakashan; Punjabi-languageKynpham Sing Nongkynrih, editor, Anthology of Contemporary Poetry from the Northeast, North-Eastern Hill University; Kahsi-languageKanaka Ha Ma, translator, Battalike, a translation of Javed Akhtar's Tarkash from the original Urdu into Kannada; Puttur, Karnataka: Karnataka SanghaKutti Revathi, Thanimaiyin Aayiram Irakkaigal ("One Thousand Wings of Solitude"), Chennai: Panikkudam Pathippagam; Tamil-languageMalathi Maithri, Neerindri Amaiyaathu Ulagu, ("There Can Be No Earth Without Water"), Nagercoil: Kalachuvadu Pathippagam; Tamil-languageNilmani Phookan, Alop Agota Ami Ki Kotha Pati Ashilo, Guwahati, Assam: Students’ Store, Assamese-languageRajendra Kishore Panda; Oraya-language:Collected Poems – Sada Prusthha, Bhubaneswar: Metanym, Oraya-languageDrohavakya, Bhubaneswar: Metanym,Dujanari, Bhubaneswar: Metanym,Vairagi Bhramar, Bhubaneswar: Metanym,Satyottara, Bhubaneswar: Metanym,Bahwarambhe, Bhubaneswar: Metanym,S. Joseph, Meenkaran, Kottayam: DC Books, ISBN 81-264-0616-X; Malayalam-languageSalma, Pachchai Devathai, Nagercoil: Kalachuvadu Pathippagam; Tamil-languageSaroop Dhruv, Gujarati-language:Hastkshep, Ahmedabad: Samvedan Sanskritic Manch, AhmedabadSahiyara Suraj Ni Khoj Ma, Ahmedabad: Samvedan Sanskritic ManchThangjam Ibopishak Singh, Manam ("The Human Scent"), Imphal: Writer's Forum; Meitei language poet and academicRustam (Rustam Singh), Rustam ki Kavitaen, a collection of poetry in Hindi, (ISBN 81-8143-046-8), Vani Prakashan, New Delhi.Poland
Ewa Lipska, Ja ("I"); Kraków: Wydawnictwo literackieBronisław Maj, Elegie, treny, sny; Kraków: ZnakCzesław Miłosz, Orfeusz i Eurydyka ("Orpheus and Eurydice"); Kraków: Wydawnictwo LiterackieTomasz Różycki, Świat i Antyświat ("World and Antiworld"), Warsaw: Lampa i Iskra BożaEugeniusz Tkaczyszyn-Dycki:Daleko stąd zostawiłem swoje dawne i niedawne ciałoPrzyczynek do nauki o nieistnieniuAdam Zagajewski, Powrót, Kraków: a5Wisława Szymborska: Rymowanki dla dużych dzieci ("Rhymes for Big Kids")Pope John Paul II, Roman Triptych. Meditations, Polish poet published in the Vatican City and in Italian translation (Trittico romano, Meditazioni)Inga Kuznetsova, Sni-Sinitsi ("Chickadee Dreams"), winner of the Triumph youth prize and the Moscow Score Award for best first book; RussiaMarie Šťastná, Krajina s Ofélií ("Scenery with Ophelia"), Czech RepublicYi Sha, Yi Sha shixuan ("Yi Sha's Poems"), ChinaC. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry: Emma Lew, Anything the Landlord TouchesDinny O'Hearn Poetry Prize: Mangroves by Laurie Duggan, University of Queensland PressGrace Leven Prize for Poetry: Stephen Edgar, Lost in the Foreground, Duffy & SnellgroveKenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry: Jill Jones, Screens Jets HeavenGerald Lampert AwardArchibald Lampman AwardAtlantic Poetry PrizeGiller Prize: M.G. Vassanji – The In-Between World of Vikram LallSee 2003 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of the winners of those awards.Griffin Poetry Prize Canada: Margaret Avison, Concrete and Wild Carrot; International, in the English Language: Paul Muldoon, Moy sand and gravelPat Lowther AwardPrix Alain-GrandboisShaunt Basmajian Chapbook AwardNew Zealand
Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement:Montana New Zealand Book Awards First-book award for poetry: Kay McKenzie Cooke, Feeding the Dogs, University of Otago PressCholmondeley Award: Ciaran Carson, Michael Donaghy, Lavinia Greenlaw, Jackie KayDavid Cohen Prize: Thom Gunn (joint winner with novelist Beryl Bainbridge) (joint winners)Eric Gregory Award: Jen Hadfield, Zoe Brigley, Paul Batchelor, Olivia Cole, Sasha Dugdale, Anna WoodfordForward Poetry Prize Best Collection: Ciaran Carson, Breaking News (The Gallery Press); Best First Collection: A. B. Jackson, Fire Stations (Anvil Press)Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry: U. A. FanthorpeT. S. Eliot Prize (United Kingdom and Ireland): Don Paterson, Landing LightWhitbread Award for poetry: Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-TimeAgnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize awarded to David Shumate for High Water MarkAmerican Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal in Poetry, W.S. MerwinBernard F. Connors Prize for Poetry, Julie Sheehan for “Brown-headed Cow Birds”Bollingen Prize for Poetry, Adrienne RichBrittingham Prize in Poetry, Brian Teare, The Room Where I Was BornFrost Medal: Lawrence FerlinghettiNational Book Award for poetry: C.K. Williams, The SingingPoet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress: Louise Glück appointedPulitzer Prize for poetry (United States): Paul Muldoon, Moy Sand and GravelRobert Fitzgerald Prosody Award: George T. WrightRuth Lilly Poetry Prize: Linda PastanWallace Stevens Award: Richard WilburWhiting Awards: Major JacksonWilliam Carlos Williams Award: Gary Young, No Other Life, Judge: Angela JacksonFellowship of the Academy of American Poets: Li-Young LeeBirth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article:
March 16 – Susan McGowan, poet (born 1907), AustralianJune 28 – C. B. Christesen, poet and founding editor of Meanjin (born 1911), AustralianJuly 6 – Kathleen Jessie Raine (born 1908), an English poet, critic and scholarJuly 8 – Subhash Mukhopadhyay (born 1919), Bengali poetJuly 9 – Josephine Jacobsen (born 1908), American poet, short story writer, and criticJuly 15 – Roberto Bolaño, at 50 (born 1953), from liver disease, ChileAugust 7 – F. T. Prince (born 1912), South African-English poet and academicSeptember 3 – Alan Dugan (born 1923), American poetNovember 3 – Rasul Gamzatov, Avarian/Soviet/Russian poet, called the "People's poet of Dagestan" (aged 80)November 27 – Talal al-Rasheed, Saudi poet (aged 41?)December 12 – Fadwa Toukan, 86, Palestinian poetDecember 23 – John Newlove (born 1923), Canadian poetdate not known – Heinz Piontek (born 1925), German 
