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Claudia Rankine Wins Bobbitt Poetry Prize
Claudia Rankine has won the 2016 Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry for her acclaimed book “Citizen: An American Lyric.” The award is presented by the Library of Congress and comes with a prize of $10,000.
“Citizen” was published in 2014 and explored race and violence in modern America. It made the New York Times best-seller list and received numerous awards and a stage adaptation. Ms. Rankine was awarded a MacArthur “genius” grant last year, and said that she planned to use part of that prize money to explore whiteness.
Nathaniel Mackey won the Bobbitt lifetime achievement prize. The pair will receive their awards and read selections from their work on April 20 at the Library of Congress.
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