Minneapolis poet Heid E. Erdrich wins Bobbitt Poetry Prize

The Library of Congress has awarded its prestigious Bobbitt Poetry Prizes to Minneapolis poet Heid E. Erdrich and to former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove.

Erdrich will be honored for her collection "Little Big Bully," published in 2020 and winner of a National Poetry Series award. Dove will receive a lifetime achievement award. Both poets will read from their work at the ceremony at 7 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Library of Congress' Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington, D.C.

In their citation for Erdrich, the jury wrote, "She writes across the breadth of the U.S.'s collective history with Indigenous peoples using historical terminology that reaches into the heart of tribal sovereign existence. Yet there is the underlying awareness that Indigenous nations maintain a unique history and have tribal narratives that shape their lives. Her poems are lyrical, visual and, at times, achingly personal."

Erdrich, who lives in Minneapolis, is Ojibwe and an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. The Bobbitt Prize carries a $10,000 award.

Laurie Hertzel is the senior editor for books at the Star Tribune.