The National Book Awards recognizes superior writers in their fields, and this year Jay Hopler, Professor of English at the University of South Florida, is one of ten poets to earn a spot on the longlist for poetry.
“Being longlisted for the National Book Award in Poetry is an amazing honor,” says Hopler. “Not to mention a surprise. I’m still sort of in shock about the whole thing.”
His book, The Abridged History of RainfalI, will be published in November by McSweeney’s. Hopler composed this intimate poetry as a eulogy for his father and expanded on his emotions to create a work of fiction.
Hopler shares the list with Rita Dove, Pulitzer-Prize winner and U.S. Poet Laureate, and Donald Hall, National Book Critics Circle Award winner and National Medal of Arts recipient.
“The poets on the longlist are incredible talents; I admire the work they’re doing and I’m honored to be included in such amazing company,” says Hopler.
The five finalists will be announced on October 13; the winner will be announced on November 16 at the National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner in New York City.
This is not Hopler’s first go-round in the awards circuit. His book Green Squall, published in 2006 by Yale University Press, won the 2005 Yale Series of Younger Poets Award.
Currently, he teaches poetry courses for the MFA and undergraduate programs at the University of South Florida. He hopes this accomplishment will inspire his students and show them that nothing is impossible.
For more information about Hopler’s work, visit jayhopler.com. To learn more about USF’s creative writing program and the Department of English, contact Rita Ciresi, Program Director, at [email protected].
