Terrance Hayes Nominated for a National Book Award

Photo © Renee Rosensteel

Pittsburgh-based poet Terrance Hayes has been nominated for a National Book Award for his collection Lighthead. He is one of five finalists for poetry along with C.D. Wright, Kathleen Graber, James Richardson, and Monica Youn.

In his interview with Sampsonia Way magazine, Hayes describes Lighthead as “the illumination of the imagination.”

Read the full interview.

The award is organized by the National Book Foundation and finalists are selected by five-judge panels who are asked to name the best books published last year and written by United States citizens.

Winners will be announced on November 17 at a ceremony in New York City.

Hayes is the author of three previous volumes of poetry including Wind in a Box, which was named one of the 100 Books of 2006 by Publisher’s Weekly. His other honors include a Whiting Writers Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He is a professor of creative writing at Carnegie Mellon University.

Read selections from the National Book Award nominated, Lighthead.