Bollingen Prize

The Bollingen Prize, which is presently awarded every two years by Beinecke Library of Yale University, is a prestigious literary honor bestowed on an American poet in recognition of the best book of new verse within the last two years, or for lifetime achievement. [http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/bollingen/ "The Bollingen Prize for Poetry at Yale,"] webpage maintained by Yale University. Retrieved Nov. 9, 2007.]

Inception and Controversy

The prize was established in 1948 by Paul Mellon, and was funded by a $10,000 grant from the Bollingen Foundation to the Library of Congress. Both the prize and the foundation are named after the village of Bollingen, Switzerland, where Carl Jung had a country retreat. The inaugural prize, chosen by a jury of Fellows in American Letters of the Library of Congress, was awarded to Ezra Pound for his famous collection of poems entitled "The Pisan Cantos". This choice of a work by a committed fascist sympathizer infuriated many people in Cold War America, and political pressure led the Congress to end the Library of Congress involvement in the program and return the unused portion of the grant to the Bollingen Foundation in 1949.McGuire, William (1982). "Bollingen: An Adventure in Collecting the Past" (Princeton University Press:Bollingen Series, New Jersey).] McGuire, William (1988). [http://writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/pound-bollingen.html "Ezra Pound and Bollingen Prize controversy,"] in "Poetry's Catbird Seat (the consultantship in poetry in the English language at the Library of Congress, 1937-1987)" (Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.). ISBN 0-8444-0586-8 . Online version retrieved November 10, 2007.]

Continuance through the Yale University Library

The Bollingen Foundation decided to continue the program, with the administrative tasks being handled by the Yale University Library. The prize was awarded annually from 1948 to 1963. In 1963 the amount of the award was increased to $5,000, and thereafter it was given every other year. After 1968, when the Bollingen Foundation was dissolved, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation took over. In 1973 the Mellon Foundation established an endowment of $100,000 to enable the Yale Library to continue awarding the prize in perpetuity.

In 1961 a similar prize was set up by the Bollingen Foundation for best translation and it was won by Robert Fitzgerald for his translation of the Iliad. It has also been won by Walter W. Arndt for his translation of Eugene Onegin, and in 1963 by Richard Wilbur and Mona Van Duyn jointly.

Recipients

"Switch from annual to biennial"

References

ee also

*American poetry
*List of poetry awards
*List of American literary awards
*List of literary awards
*List of years in poetry
*List of years in literature