2010 in poetry

Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France). January 19 – For the first time since 1949, an anonymous black-clad man, known as the Poe Toaster, failed to show up at the tomb of Edgar Allan Poe at the Westminster Hall and Burying Ground, early on the morning of Poe's birthday. The absence of the man, who would toast Poe with Cognac and leave three red roses at the grave (along with the rest of the Cognac), disappointed more than 30 people who stayed up all night to be present at the appearance. March 27 – The Mezzo Cammin Women Poets Timeline Project, designed to become the largest database of women poets in the world, was launched in Washington, D.C., at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The database will feature biographical information about female poets, as well as photos of them and, when possible, reprints of their work. April 12 – Rae Armantrout wins the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for her collection Versed. "Having also won the National Book Critics Circle Award, after being named a finalist for the National Book Award, Armantrout is only the third poet to win two out of the three awards in one year." May 1 – David Biespiel, writing in Poetry, suggests (in an essay titled "This Land Is Our Land") that the insularity of America's poets has left them with a minimal presence in American civic discourse and a minuscule public role in the life of American democracy. November 26 – Japanese government honors Canadian poet Joy Kogawa with the Order of the Rising Sun "for her contribution to the understanding and preservation of Japanese Canadian history." Listed by nation where the work was first published and again by the poet's native land, if different; substantially revised works listed separately: Robert Adamson, editor, Best Australian Poems 2010, Black Inc.