John Ashbery's Honors & Awards

2017

— The Raymond Roussel Society Medal

The text on the medal reads, “Awarded to our founding member, John Ashbery, in recognition of his extraordinary contribution: rediscovering and spreading awareness of Raymond Roussel in the United States of America, June 2017, New York, by Joan Bofill, Enric Majoral and Jordi Roca.” The attached star cookies were to be placed into the medal and worn about the neck. Regarding this, John Ashbery said that (as transcribed by David Kermani): “Roussel was enamored with the French astronomer Camille Flammarion, whose observatory was in the town of Juvisy. Roussel was invited to a reception where cookies in the shape of stars were served. Roussel saved one and had a box made of silver and crystal in the shape of a star to hold the cookie.” When Ashbery was doing research on Roussel in Paris, he learned that Dora Maar had the cookie and box; she took Ashbery to her bank fault and showed it to him. This is an example of the intensity and obsessive attention that Roussel paid to certain things.

2014

— *The Medal of Honor for Achievement in Literature (National Arts Club [NY]) 

— Pegasus Award for Poetry Criticism finalist (Collected French Translations: Poetry and Collected French Translations: Prose)

2013 

— *NYC Literary Honors award in poetry 

2012

— *2011 National Humanities Medal 

— Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize finalist (Illuminations, by Arthur Rimbaud) 

— *D. Litt. (Hon.), Middlebury College (VT) 

2011

— *New York State Writers Hall of Fame inductee 

— *Medal of the Center for French Civilization and Culture of New York University 

— *National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters 

— 17th Annual Out 100 honoree (Out magazine) 

— Equality Forum, LGBT History Month Icon (October 2nd)

2010 

— *Best of Brooklyn, Inc. ("BoBi") award (Brooklyn Book Festival) 

2009

 — National Book Critics Circle Award finalist (The Landscapist, by Pierre Martory, translated by John Ashbery) 

— *Hadada Award (Paris Review) 

— *Harvard Arts Medal (Harvard University)  

— *Premio Napoli Special Prize for Career Achievement (Naples, Italy) 

2008

— *Robert Creeley Award (Acton Memorial Library; Acton, MA is Creeley's hometown)

— *D. Litt. (Hon.), Yale University (CT)

The English citation reads: John Lawrence Ashbery / You are one of the truly original poets of your time. In poem after poem, you keep your exhilarated readers off balance, capturing the spontaneous wonder of living in a world that resists the ability to capture it. Your imagination—at once witty and nostalgic—is altogether American, as capacious and unpredictable as the culture it celebrates. Your books stand among those rare works of genius that extend the poetic vocabulary. For your incomparable artistry in expressing the flux of life in a miraculous "still performance,” Yale is honored to grant you the degree of / Doctor of Letters / Yale University - 2008

— *April 7th declared "'John Ashbery Day' in the City of New York" by the New York City Council (in conjunction with the New School's John Ashbery Festival, a three-day tribute to his work) 

— *Named honorary poet for the Signet Society's Annual Dinner (Harvard University)

— *Elected Foreign Member, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (Rome) 

2005

— National Book Award finalist (Where Shall I Wander)

2003

— *D. Litt. (Hon.), Pace University (NY)

2002 

— *Officier, Légion d'Honneur of the Republic of France (by presidential decree)

2001

— Lenore Marshall Prize finalist (Academy of American Poets, Your Name Here)

— *Signet Society Medal for Achievement in the Arts (Signet Associates, Harvard University)

The citation with the award reads: Starting with "the extreme austerity of an almost empty mind," fed by the steaming broth of Rimbaud, Crane and Wheelright, he brought surrealism out into our gusty American locations, and the results were unexpected. We have book-length lyrics, our most wayward idioms have become Miltonic, and our age is the age of Ashbery.

Our national poet may seem opaque. He pretends he wants a type of comprehension he does not want. His true Penelope is Olive Oyl. But he takes from us our inner lives and gives them back repaired. We have only a medal to offer in return.

UT PICTURA POESIS: ERIT QUAE, SI PROPRIUS STES, TE CAPIAT MAGIS, ET QUAEDAM, SI LONGIUS ABSTES, HAEC AMAT OBSCURUM, VIOLET HAEC SUB LUCE VIDERI. (Poems are just like pictures. Some look best up close. Others do better from a distance. One likes the dark. One likes a little light. — Horace)

— *D.Litt. (Hon.), Harvard University

— *Columbia County [NY] Council on the Arts Special Citation for Literature 

— *Wallace Stevens Award (Academy of American Poets)

2000

— *Walt Whitman Citation of Merit (State of New York/New York State Writers Institute; serving as New York State Poet Laureate from 2001 to 2003)

1998

— Bingham Poetry Prize (Boston Review of Books, for The Mooring of Starting Out: The First Five Books of Poetry)

1997 

— *Gold Medal for Poetry (American Academy of Arts and Letters; the twelfth such award since they began in 1909)

1996

— *Grand Prix des Biennales Internationales de Poésie (Brussels; first English-language winner) 

— *Silver Medal of the City of Paris (France)

1995

— *Robert Frost Medal (Poetry Society of America)

— Jerome J. Shestack Prize (American Poetry Review)

1994 

— *D.Litt. (Hon.), University of Rochester (New York)

1993

— *Chevalier de L'ordre des Arts et des Lettres (French Ministry of Education and Culture, Paris)

— Pulitzer Prize finalist (Hotel Lautréamont)

1992

— *Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize (Poetry/Modern Poetry Association/American Council for the Arts)

— *Antonio Feltrinelli International Prize for Poetry (Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome) 

1991

— *Horst Bienek Prize for Poetry (Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts, Munich)

1989 

— *Creative Arts Award in Poetry (Medal) (Brandeis University)

1988-1999

— *served as Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets

1987

— *Golden Plate Award (American Academy of Achievement)

— National Book Critics Circle Award finalist (April Galleons)

— Named first “Poet Laureate of MTV”

1986

— Los Angeles Times Book Award finalist (Selected Poems)

— Common Wealth Award in Literature (Modern Language Association)

1985-1990 

— MacArthur Foundation Fellowship

1985

— Bollingen Prize in Poetry (Yale University Library, for A Wave)

— Wallace Stevens Fellowship (Timothy Dwight College/Yale University)

— Lenore Marshall/The Nation Poetry Prize (A Wave)

1984 

— National Book Critics Circle Award finalist (A Wave)

— Los Angeles Times Book Award finalist (A Wave)

— *Poet of the Year (Pasadena City College) 

— *Literary Lion (New York Public Library) 

— *Heritage Award (Deerfield Academy Alumni Association)

 1983 

— Jerome J. Shestack Poetry Award (American Poetry Review) 

— *New York City Mayor's Award of Honor for Arts and Culture

— *Charles Flint Kellogg Award in Arts and Letters (Bard College)

 — elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

1982

— National Book Award finalist (Shadow Train)

— selected Fellow of the Academy of American Poets

1980

— elected to membership in the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters

 1979 

— *D.Litt. (Hon.), Southampton College of Long Island University

— *Phi Beta Kappa Poet (Harvard University)

— *English-Speaking Union Poetry Award

1979-1980

— Rockefeller Foundation grant in playwriting

1978 

— National Endowment for the Arts Composer/Librettist grant (with Elliott Carter, for Syringa)

 1977

— Levinson Prize (Poetry magazine)

— *Friends of the Rochester (NY) Public Library Literary Award

— National Book Critics Circle Award finalist (Houseboat Days)

1976

— Pulitzer Prize (Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror)

— National Book Award (Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror)

— National Book Critics Circle Award (Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror)

N.B. This was the first time that the three major American literary prizes were all given for the same book.

1974

— Frank O'Hara Prize (Modern Poetry Association)

For "Scheherazade," "As You Came from the Holy Land," "A Man of Words," "Grand Galop," and "Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror," published in Poetry magazine, 1973-1974

1973

— Shelley Memorial Award (Poetry Society of America, for Three Poems)

— Poetry Day Guest of Honor (Modern Poetry Association)

1969; 1970

— National Endowment for the Arts publication awards

1969

— American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award in Literature

 1967; 1973

— Guggenheim Foundation fellowships

1967

— National Book Award finalist (Rivers and Mountains)

1966

— Union League Civic and Arts Foundation Poetry Prize (Poetry magazine)

 1963 

— Harriet Monroe Lyric Prize (Poetry magazine)

1962; 1972 

— Ingram Merrill Foundation grants

1960; 1964

— Poets' Foundation grants

 1959

— Longview Foundation Award in poetry

For "How Much Longer Will I Be Able to Inhabit the Divine Sepulcher ..." and "April Fool's Day," published in Big Table magazine, 1959

 1955-56; 1956-57

— Fulbright scholarships to France

1955

— winner, Yale Series of Younger Poets competition 

Judged by W.H. Auden, the competition resulted in the publication of Some Trees, 1956.

1952 

— Discovery Prize (YMHA/92nd St. Y [NY])