Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award goes to Angie Estes

The $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award goes to Angie Estes for her book “Enchantee” (Oberlin College Press). Announced Wednesday and presented by Claremont Graduate University, the award is among the most significant in America for a mid-career poet.

Estes is the author of five books of poetry; “Tryst” (2009) was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Unlike many poets, she does not teach full time, a deliberate choice she has made to focus on her work.

“I couldn’t be happier to see the Kingsley Tufts award go to a person who has lived her life with art as her highest priority, at whatever personal cost,” chief judge Chase Twichell said in a statement. He described her poetry as a “delicious and magical swirl of cultures and languages, past and present.”

The winner of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award for a debut book of poetry also was announced: Brandon Som, of Los Angeles, for “The Tribute Horse” published by Nightboat Books. Som will receive $10,000.

The other finalists for both prizes also were announced. For the Kingsley Tufts award, they were Lucie Brock-Broido for “Stay, Illusion” (Knopf), Laura Kasischke for “The Infinitesimals” (Copper Canyon Press), Mark Wunderlich for “The Earth Avails” (Graywolf Press) and Kevin Young for “Book of Hours” (Knopf). The other finalists for the Kate Tufts award were David J. Daniels for “Clean” (Four Way Books), Hailey Leithauser for “Swoop” (Graywolf Press), Jamaal May for “Hum” (Alice James Books) and Roger Reeves for “King Me” (Copper Canyon Press).

The awards will be presented at a ceremony in Claremont on April 16.

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