Yale professor wins poetry prize

Elizabeth Alexander, a poet, playwright, essayist and Yale University professor, has won the first Jackson Poetry Prize, a $50,000 award given to an American poet whose work has been critically recognized but has not yet received significant public attention.

The new award was created by the New York-based Poets & Writers Inc., which describes itself as the nation’s largest nonprofit literary organization assisting creative writers. The group, which has a satellite office in Los Angeles, strives to boost the visibility and appreciation of poets nationwide.

Alexander won the honor based on the recommendations of a three-judge panel, including poets Lucille Clifton, Stephen Dunn and Jane Hirshfield. Alexander has written four books of poems, including “American Sublime,” which was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize.