Goodreads Choice Opening Round Voting Ends Nov 6
That’s tomorrow…the Choice Awards for Best Book of 2016 are open and voting goes on NOW. Having several rounds is a little like having ‘early voting’ right? You can see the categories here
You should check out all the categories, but of course I want you to pay attention to the poetry nominees.
The 2016 poetry nominees are:
Pablo Neruda: Then Come Back: The Lost Neruda Poems
Amanda Lovelace: the princess saves herself in this one
Michael Faudet: Bitter Sweet Love
Sarah Kay: The Type
Kwame Alexander: Booked
Robert M. Drake: Beautiful and Damned
Solmaz Sharif: Look: Poems
Lang Leav: The Universe of Us
Samantha Jayne: Quarter Life Poetry: Powns for the Young, Broke and Hangry
K. W. Peery: Tales of a Receding Hairline
Vivek Shraya: even this page is white
Larry Levis: The Darkening Trapeze: Last Poems
Sierra DeMulder: Today Means Amen
Ocean Vuong: Night Sky with Exit Wounds
R. H. Sin: Whiskey Words & a Shovel II
Most of the list I’ve heard of and several I’ve read. Two (Levis and Neruda) I’ve mentioned in prior posts on this blog.
My favorites:
Pablo Neruda: Then Come Back: The Lost Neruda Poems
Kwame Alexander: Booked
Larry Levis: The Darkening Trapeze: Last Poems
Ocean Vuong: Night Sky with Exit Wounds
And my vote in the opening round: Levis’ The Darkening Trapeze of course. But you knew I was biased so probably could have guessed my vote.
If your favorite book of poetry published in the last year isn’t on the list, don’t despair. The top 5 write-in candidates will show up in the semifinal round along with the top group from the opening round. After the semifinal round, the top ten appear in the final round of voting.
The second round opens on November 8–so no matter how you feel about how the US Presidential Election is going, you can come back and cast your vote for each category again in the second round, doing your part to select the Best Books of 2016.
Voting is a Right
Well, Goodreads users have a right to vote in the Choice Awards. So this might be a good time to set up a Goodreads account, if you don’t have one already. You can use it as little or as much as you like — participate in groups, post reviews, read others’ reviews, track your books read or your to be read lists.
By the time we’ve all recuperated from the US Election and Thanksgiving weeked (with or without Black Friday shopping) the Choice Awards voting will be finished and new winners crowned. While there’s not much time, there still is a little time for you to review the poetry nominees, maybe head out to the library and check out ones you are interested in.
Looking for poetry recommendations?
Here’s the list of past goodreads Choice Awards winners in poetry, going back to 2010:
2015 Trista Mateer: The Dogs I Have Kissed
2014 Lang Leav: Lullabies
2013 J. R. R. Tolkein: The Fall of Arthur
2012 Mary Oliver: A Thousand Mornings
2011 Billy Collins: Horoscopes for the Dead
2010 Matthew Zapruder: Come On All You Ghosts
Meantime, vote your preference in the Choice Awards, in whichever categories you read. But hurry up–opening round voting closes soon…
Choice Awards Voting Schedule
| Opening Round | Nov. 1 – 6 |
| Semifinal Round | Nov. 8 – 13 |
| Final Round | Nov. 15 – 27 |