Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award


The Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award was established in 1994 by The Formalist. The award, honoring the poet Howard Nemerov, was an open competition for sonnets in English that drew about 3000 entries annually. The award was $1000, and from 1995–2004, the winning sonnet and the eleven finalists were published inFollowing the discontinuation of The Formalist in 2004, the winning sonnet and eleven finalist poems were published in the literary magazine Measure. The creation of this award is associated with the "New Formalism" movement.
In the announcement of the 2017 winner and finalists, the 2017 competition was described as the "24th & final" contest.

List of winners

The winners, judges, and winning sonnets from 1994–2011 are posted on a webpage of The Formalist; the subsequent winners are also listed in the table below:

YearPoetSonnetJudge
2017Carol FrithDying FirethornDana Gioia
2016Midge GoldbergTennis Practice Against the Garage DoorRachel Hadas
2015D. R. GoodmanAll the Dropped ThingsGail White
2014Marty SteyerCaliban Is NotR.S. Gwynn
2013Gail WhiteTourist in IndiaDick Davis
2012Gail WhiteOld PhotographsRhina Espaillat
2011Robert W. CrawfordOdds AreA. M. Juster
2010Catherine ChandlerComing to TermsA. E. Stallings
2009Richard WakefieldPetrarchDavid Middleton
2008Stephen ScaerSightseersTimothy Steele
2007A. M. JusterNoFrederick Turner
2006Robert W. CrawfordThe Empty ChairAndrew Hudgins
2005Marion ShorePetrarch on West 115th StreetCharles Martin
2004A. E. StallingsHank Williams BluesRachel Hadas
2003Rhina EspaillatDiscoveryDana Gioia
2002Marion ShoreEmbarkingWyatt Prunty
2001Deborah WarrenBaggageX. J. Kennedy
2000A. M. JusterNote from EchoW. D. Snodgrass
1999Bob McKentyChain PoemWendy Cope
1998Rhina EspaillatContingenciesJohn Frederick Nims
1997Madeleine MyskoIncipient FireworksDonald Justice
1996Timothy MurphyThe Track of the StormAnthony Hecht
1995A. M. JusterMoscow ZooMona Van Duyn
1994Sarah BirnbaumJo PaintedRichard Wilbur