Stephen Burt named National Book Critics Circle Award finalist

Associate Professor of English Stephen Burt has been named a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Award in Criticism for his book “Close Calls with Nonsense: Reading New Poetry.” The announcement was made on Jan. 23.

Burt, who is a poet himself, has been lauded as one of poetry’s freshest voices. He has written several books of poetry, which include “Parallel Play,” “Popular Music,” and “Shot Clocks: Poems for the WNBA.” Other books include “Something Understood: Essays and Poetry for Helen Vendler,” “The Forms of Youth: Twentieth-Century Poetry and Adolescence,” “Randall Jarrell and His Age,” and “The Art of the Sonnet,” forthcoming in April.

Burt is a frequent contributor to literary journals around the country, and his critical essays have been featured, most notably, in The Times Literary Supplement and The New York Times.

The NBCC consists of more than 600 active book reviewers who are interested in honoring quality writing and communicating with one another about common concerns.

Winners will be announced in a ceremony in New York City on March 11.