NEW YORK — A well-regarded poet with a lengthy career, known for exploring themes from school desegregation to the recollections of Holocaust survivors, has been awarded a prestigious $100,000 prize for showcasing “exceptional talent.”
The organization Poets & Writers revealed on Monday that Cyrus Cassells has been chosen as the recipient of this year’s Jackson Poetry Prize. Since its inception in 2007, the prize has been bestowed upon other notable poets, including Joy Harjo, Sonia Sanchez, and Carl Phillips. Cassells, who served as a former Texas poet laureate, has an extensive bibliography that includes 11 published works, such as “More Than Peace and Cypresses,” “Soul Make a Path Through Shouting,” and the collection “Everything in Life is Resurrection.”
“In today’s increasingly tumultuous world, the courageous empathy expressed in these poems is both deep and hard-won, creating a rare and invaluable experience,” part of the judges’ citation states. “These works delve into themes of pain, betrayal, racism, and cruelty, while also teaching us to recognize and preserve the glimmers of hope that persist.”
Poets & Writers, founded in 1970, operates as a nonprofit organization with a mission to advance the professional growth of poets and writers. The organization endeavors to facilitate communication within the literary sphere and foster an environment where literature is widely celebrated.