UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State University Libraries and the Pennsylvania Center for the Book have announced the 2023 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, presented annually to an American poet or anthologist for the most outstanding new book of poetry for children published in the previous calendar year. This year’s winner is “Garvey in the Dark,” written by Nikki Grimes, and published by Wordsong, an imprint of Astra Books for Young Readers.
“An emotional and timely verse novel that explores the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic alongside the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement from a preteen boy’s perspective. Grimes’ use of the tanka form is a creative and useful method for conveying the various emotional moods that accompany that time, including everything from fear, anger, sadness, joy, triumph and love. Her effective use of line breaks and rhythm create moving stand-alone poems that contribute to an overall story,” said one judge.
“‘Garvey in the Dark,’” another judge said, “isn't just a beautiful and emotional work of poetic fiction. It's also a time capsule of our shared past — a novel children can read 20 years from now to better understand the fear, confusion, isolation and community we all felt in 2020 during the pandemic. This is combined with Garvey's experience as a young black boy grappling with racial injustice in America. Somehow, Grimes has managed to convey a global experience, a unique black experience and a personal survivor experience, using the tanka (a Japanese poetry form that originated in the seventh century) from beginning to end.”
Grimes will receive a prize of $1,000, courtesy of Lee Bennett Hopkins' estate, and an engraved commemorative.
Additionally, judges gave an honor award to “A Poem Grows Inside You,” written by Katey Howes, illustrated by Heather Brockman Lee, and published by The Innovation Press. The honor winner will receive an engraved commemorative.
“This book is a celebration of poetry — one that gently introduces young readers to the joy of poetic expression, rhyme and rhythm,” said one judge. “A beautiful and playful picture book that fittingly celebrates the joy of writing poetry through the poetic form. The pictures support and enhance the gentle narrative, creating a heartwarming and uplifting read for its child audience,” said another.
The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award was named for the late internationally renowned educator, poet, anthologist, and passionate advocate of poetry for young people. Established in 1993, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award was the first of its kind in the United States. The Pennsylvania Center for the Book and the Penn State University Libraries share joint administration of the annual award, and its winning titles are selected by a panel of authors, librarians, teachers and scholars.
The 2023 judges for the Lee Bennett Hopkins Award are chair, Colette Slagle, Springfield, Illinois; Danielle Higley, children's book author, Boise, Idaho; Shelly Ratliff, associate professor of education, director of field experiences and president of West Virginia Reading Association, Glenville, West Virginia; and Marilyn Robbins, children's program coordinator and children's book buyer for BookBar and The Bookies Bookstore, Thornton, Colorado; Arpita Sarker, doctoral candidate, Penn State University, State College, Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Center for the Book established in 1977 at the Library of Congress, encourages Pennsylvania’s citizens and residents to study, honor, celebrate and promote books, reading, libraries and literacy. In addition to the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, it also administers the Public Poetry Project, the Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize, "A Baker’s Dozen: The Thirteen Best Children’s Books for Family Literacy," and the interactive Literary and Cultural Heritage Map of Pennsylvania.
For more information about the Hopkins Award and other programs and awards, contact Caroline Wermuth at cvw1@psu.edu or visit the Pennsylvania Center for the Book's website.