The New Criterion began publishing poetry in April 1984, about
a year and a half after its first issue appeared in September
1982. That April, we published poems by Donald Hall, Brad
Leithauser, and Donald Petersen. Over the following sixteen
years, we have published hundreds of poems by poets young and
old, celebrated and obscure. In the world of poetry, The New Criterion
is probably best known as a champion of what has come
to be called the New Formalism. But, while subscribing to the
sentiment behind Robert Frost’s comment that he would as soon write
free verse as play tennis with the net down, we have in fact published
poems in many styles and forms, including a fair amount of free
verse. Although it can certainly be said that we are not hostile
to traditional poetic forms, our first criterion has
always been to publish well-made poems that display
linguistic sensitivity and aesthetic intelligence.

With this in mind, we are pleased to announce the first annual
New Criterion Poetry Prize for a manuscript of poems that pay
close attention to form. Outside judges for the contest this year
will be Donald Justice and Elizabeth Spires, who will deliberate
with the editors to determine the winner. The winning poet will
receive $3000, and the winning manuscript will be published by the
Chicago publisher Ivan R. Dee. Additional details regarding the
contest will be found in the advertisement we have placed at the
back of this issue.