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Indonesian literatures
WRITTEN BY: The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
See Article History

Indonesian literatures, the poetry and prose writings in Javanese, Malay,

Sundanese, and other languages of the peoples of Indonesia. They include works
orally transmitted and then preserved in written form by the Indonesian peoples,
oral literature, and the modern literatures that began to emerge in the early 20th
century as a result of Western in uence.

Indonesian literatures

KEY PEOPLE

Pramoedya Ananta Toer

RELATED TOPICS

Literature
Indonesian languages
Javanese literature
Malay literature

Many of the Indonesian songs, or poems, that were orally transmitted by

professional priest-singers embody traditions that have a religious function.
Improvisation played a great part in this kind of poetry, and there is reason to
believe that in its present form much of it is of no great age. Indonesian orally
transmitted prose forms are highly varied and include myths, animal stories and
“beast fables,” fairy tales, legends, puzzles and riddles, and anecdotes and
adventure stories. The divine heroes and epic animals of these tales show the

in uence of Indian literature and the written literatures of other neighbouring
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cultures.

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Indonesia: Literature
Indonesia possesses a wealth of verbal art. Much of this material, such as the
didong poetry of…

Written literature in Indonesia has been preserved in the various languages of

Sumatra (Acehnese, Batak, Rejang, Lampong, and Malay), in the languages of Java
(Sundanese and Madurese as well as Javanese), in Bali and Lombok, and in the
more important languages of South Celebes (Makassarese and Buginese). By far
the most important in both quantity and quality are the literatures in Javanese
and Malay.

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The earliest extant examples of Javanese literature date from the 9th or 10th
century CE. An important position in this early literature is occupied by Javanese
prose and poetic versions of the two great Hindu epics, the Mahabharata and the
Ramayana. The Javanese also borrowed from India’s sophisticated court poetry in
Sanskrit, in the process making it Javanese in expression, form, and feeling.

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When Islam reached Java in the 15th century, the mystical tendencies in it were
incorporated by the Javanese into their own markedly mystical religious literature.
Muslim in uence was especially fertile during the early 17th century in Aceh,
where Malay for the rst time became an important written literary language. In
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Java, Muslim legends of saints were combined with Hindu-derived mythologies
 
and cosmologies to produce imaginative works of historical narrative in which
magico-mystical elements play a prominent role.

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The Javanese and Malay literatures declined under the impact of Dutch colonial
domination in the 18th and 19th centuries. Only in the 20th century did a modern
Indonesian literature arise, closely linked as it was to the nationalist movement
and to the new ideal of a national language, Bahasa Indonesia. After 1920 a
modern Indonesian literature rapidly came into existence. Muhammad Yamin and
other prominent poets at this time were in uenced by the forms and expressive
modes of Romantic, Parnassian, and Symbolist verse from Europe. The rst
Indonesian novels also appeared in the 1920s and ’30s; these were typical regional
works by Abdul Muis and others in which the central theme is the struggle
between the generations, between the sti ing burden of traditionalism and the
impulse for modern progress.

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In 1933, with the appearance of the review Pudjangga Baru (“The New Writer”), a
new generation of intellectuals began to assess whether to maintain traditional
values or to consciously accept Western norms in the effort to establish a modern
but genuinely Indonesian culture. This discussion was interrupted by the
Japanese occupation of Indonesia in 1942, which eventually broke up a generation
that was still closely bound to Indonesia’s colonial situation. With the Indonesian
nationalist revolution of 1945, a new generation of fervently nationalistic and
idealistic young writers who professed a universal humanism came to the
forefront. Their inspiration and leader was the great poet Chairil Anwar, who died
in 1949 at age 27. The most prominent writer to emerge at this time was
Pramoedya Ananta Toer, whose support for the revolution led to his arrest in 1947
by Dutch colonial authorities. He wrote his rst published novel, Perburuan (1950;
The Fugitive), while imprisoned.
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The political climate changed radically after the violent events that surrounded
Suharto’s assumption of power in 1965–66. Strict government censorship was
introduced, and many writers were either imprisoned or silenced. Continued
restrictions on freedom of expression limited literary activity during the following
decades, although these restrictions were eased somewhat after Suharto’s
resignation from the presidency, in 1998.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Virginia Gorlinski, Associate Editor.

LEARN MORE in these related Britannica articles:

Indonesia: Literature

Indonesia possesses a wealth of verbal art. Much of this material, such as

the didong poetry of…

Indonesia

Indonesia, country located off the coast of mainland Southeast Asia in the
Indian and…

beast fable

Beast fable, a prose or verse fable or short story that usually has a moral. In beast…

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National Book Awards

AMERICAN LITERARY AWARD

WRITTEN BY: The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

See Article History

 ARTICLE CONTENTS

National Book Awards, annual awards given to books of the highest quality
written by Americans and published by American publishers. The awards were
founded in 1950 by the American Book Publishers Council, American Booksellers
Association, and Book Manufacturers Institute. From 1976 to 1979 they were
administered by the National Book Committee. In 1980 they were renamed the
American Book Awards and were conferred by the American Booksellers
Association. Seven years later the awards were again called the National Book
Awards, and they were thereafter granted by the National Book Foundation.
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National Book Awards

QUICK FACTS

KEY PEOPLE

Ralph Ellison
Howard Nemerov

NOTABLE HONOREES

William Faulkner
W. H. Auden
Isaac Bashevis Singer
Stephen Greenblatt
Stephen King
Norman Mailer
Robert Caro
W.S. Merwin
Sherman Alexie
Saul Bellow

RELATED TOPICS

Novel
American literature
Literature
Poetry
Fiction

The process begins when publishers submit selected books to compete in several
categories, chie y ction, non ction, and poetry. Winners are chosen by ve-
member panels selected for each genre; they receive a $10,000 cash award and a
crystal sculpture. Awards are also intermittently given for children’s literature,
autobiography, rst novel, and other categories. Past winners include William
Carlos Williams, Bruce Catton, Theodore Roethke, Katherine Anne Porter, Edward
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Seidensticker, Flannery O’Connor, Lewis Thomas, and Madeleine L’Engle.
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Winners Of The National Book Award For

Fiction

Winners of the National Book Award for ction are listed in the table.

National Book Awards—Fiction1

year title author

1950 The Man with the Golden Arm Nelson Algren

1951 The Collected Stories of William Faulkner William Faulkner

1952 From Here to Eternity James Jones

1953 Invisible Man Ralph Ellison

1954 The Adventures of Augie March Saul Bellow

1955 A Fable William Faulkner

1956 Ten North Frederick John O'Hara

1957 The Field of Vision Wright Morris

1958 The Wapshot Chronicle John Cheever

1959 The Magic Barrel Bernard Malamud

1960 Goodbye, Columbus Philip Roth

1961 The Waters of Kronos Conrad Richter

1962 The Moviegoer Walker Percy

1963 Morte d'Urban J.F. Powers

1964 The Centaur John Updike

1965 Herzog Saul Bellow

1966 The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter
1Unless otherwise Katherine Anne Porter
indicated, the category in which the award was presented is " ction."
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 
1967
2Award The Fixer for translation.
presented Bernard Malamud

3In1980 the National Book Awards became the American Book Awards. Gregory Rabassa
Hopscotch (translation of Rayuela by Julio Cortázar)2
4From 1987 the awards were again known as the National Book Awards.
(translator)

1968 The Eighth Day Thornton Wilder

1969 Steps Jerzy Kosinski

Cosmicomics (translation of Cosmicomiche by Italo William Weaver

Calvino)2 (translator)

1970 them Joyce Carol Oates

Castle to Castle (translation of D'un château l'autre by Louis- Ralph Manheim

Ferdinand Céline)2 (translator)

1971 Mr. Sammler's Planet Saul Bellow

The Sound of the Mountain (translation of Yama no oto by Edward G. Seidensticker

Kawabata Yasunari)2 (translator)

1972 The Complete Stories Flannery O'Connor

1973 Chimera John Barth

Augustus John Williams

1974 A Crown of Feathers and Other Stories Isaac Bashevis Singer

Gravity's Rainbow Thomas Pynchon

Monsieur Teste (translation of synonymous novel by Paul Jackson Matthews

Veléry)2 (translator)

1975 Dog Soldiers: A Novel Robert Stone

The Hair of Harold Roux Thomas Williams

1976 JR William Gaddis

1977 The Spectator Bird Wallace Stegner

1978 Blood Tie Mary Lee Settle

1979 Going After Cacciato Tim O'Brien

19803 Sophie's Choice (hardcover ction) William Styron

The World According to Garp (paperback ction) John Irving

1Unless Birdy ( rst
otherwise novel) the category in which the award was presented
indicated, William Wharton
is " ction."
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 
2Award The Greenfor
presented Ripper (hardcover mystery)
translation. John D. MacDonald

3In 1980 the National

Stained GlassBook Awards became
(paperback mystery)the American Book Awards. William F. Buckley, Jr.
4From 1987 the awards were again known as the National Book Awards.
Jem (hardcover science ction) Frederick Pohl

The Book of the Dun Cow (paperback science ction) Walter Wangerin, Jr.

1981 Plains Song: For Female Voices (hardcover ction) Wright Morris

The Stories of John Cheever (paperback ction) John Cheever

Sister Wolf ( rst novel) Ann Arensberg

Evening Edged in Gold (translation of Abend mit Goldrand

John E. Woods (translator)
by Arno Schmidt)2

1982 Rabbit Is Rich (hardcover ction) John Updike

So Long, See You Tomorrow (paperback ction) William Maxwell

Dale Loves Sophie to Death ( rst novel) Robb Forman Dew

1983 The Color Purple (hardcover ction) Alice Walker

The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty (paperback ction) Eudora Welty

The Women of Brewster Place ( rst novel) Gloria Naylor

1984 Victory over Japan: A Book of Stories Ellen Gilchrist

Stones for Ibarra ( rst work of ction) Harriet Doer

1985 White Noise Don DeLillo

Easy in the Islands: Stories ( rst work of ction) Bob Shacochis

1986 World's Fair E.L. Doctorow

19874 Paco's Story Larry Heinemann

1988 Paris Trout Pete Dexter

1989 Spartina John Casey

1990 Middle Passage Charles Johnson

1991 Mating Norman Rush

1992 All the Pretty Horses Cormac McCarthy

1993 Th Shi i N E A i P l
1993 The Shipping News E. Annie Proulx
1Unless otherwise indicated, the category in which the award was presented is " ction."

1994 A Frolic of His Own
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William Gaddis
 
2Award presented for translation.

1995 Sabbath's Theater

3In 1980 the Philip Roth
National Book Awards became the American Book Awards.

1996
4From Ship
1987 Fever
the andwere
awards Other Stories
again known as the National Book Awards. Andrea Barrett

1997 Cold Mountain Charles Frazier

1998 Charming Billy Alice McDermott

1999 Waiting Ha Jin

2000 In America Susan Sontag

2001 The Corrections Jonathan Franzen

2002 Three Junes Julia Glass

2003 The Great Fire Shirley Hazzard

2004 The News from Paraguay Lily Tuck

2005 Europe Central William T. Vollmann

2006 The Echo Maker Richard Powers

2007 Tree of Smoke Denis Johnson

2008 Shadow Country Peter Matthiessen

2009 Let the Great World Spin Colum McCann

2010 Lord of Misrule Jaimy Gordon

2011 Salvage the Bones Jesmyn Ward

2012 The Round House Louise Erdrich

2013 The Good Lord Bird James McBride

2014 Redeployment Phil Klay

2015 Fortune Smiles: Stories Adam Johnson

2016 The Underground Railroad Colson Whitehead

2017 Sing, Unburied, Sing Jesmyn Ward

2018 The Friend Sigrid Nunez

1Unless otherwise indicated, the category in which the award was presented is " ction."

2A d t df t l ti
 2Award presented for translation.

1980 the National Book Awards became the American Book Awards.
3In
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4From 1987 the awards were again known as the National Book Awards.

Winners Of The National Book Award For

Non ction

Winners of the National Book Award for non ction are listed in the table.

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National Book Awards—Non ction

year title author

1950 The Life of Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph L. Rusk

1951 Herman Melville Newton Arvin

1952 The Sea Around Us Rachel Carson

Bernard A. De
1953 The Course of Empire
Voto

1954 A Stillness at Appomattox Bruce Catton

The Measure of Man: On Freedom, Human Values, Survival, and the Joseph Wood
1955
Modern Temper Krutch

1956 American in Italy Herbert Kubly

1957 Russia Leaves the War George F. Kennan

The Lion and the Throne: The Life and Times of Sir Edward Coke Catherine Drinker
1958
(1552–1634) Bowen

J. Christopher
1959 Mistress to an Age: A Life of Madame de Staël
Herold

1960 James Joyce Richard Ellmann

1961 The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany William L. Shirer
*In 1980 the
TheNational Book Awards became the American Book Awards.

1962
City in History: Its Origins, Its Transformations, and Its FREE TRIAL
Lewis Mumford  
Prospects
**From 1987 the awards were again known as the National Book Awards.

Henry James, Vol. II: The Conquest of London (1870–1881); Vol. III:
1963 Leon Edel
The Middle Years (1882–1895)

1964 The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community (history
William H. McNeill
and biography)

John Keats: The Making of a Poet (arts and letters) Aileen Ward

Man-made America: Chaos or control?: An Inquiry into Selected Christopher

Problems of Design in the Urbanized Landscape (science, Tunnard and Boris
philosophy, and religion) Pushkarev

1965 The Life of Lenin (history and biography) Louis Fischer

Oysters of Locmariaquer (arts and letters) Eleanor Clark

God and Golem, Inc.: A Comment on Certain Points Where

Norbert Wiener
Cybernetics Impinges on Religion

1966 A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House (history and Arthur M.
biography) Schlesinger, Jr.

Paris Journal, 1944–1965 (arts and letters) Janet Flanner

1967 The Enlightenment: An Interpretation, Vol. I: The Rise of Modern

Peter Gay
Paganism (history and biography)

Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain: A Biography (arts and letters) Justin Kaplan

La Vida: A Puerto Rican Family in the Culture of Poverty (science,

Oscar Lewis
philosophy, and religion)

Willard Trask
History of My Life (translation of Mémoires by Giacomo Casanova)
(translator)

1968 Memoirs: 1925–1950 (history and biography) George F. Kennan

Selected Essays (arts and letters) William Troy

Death at an Early Age: The Destruction of the Hearts and Minds of

Negro Children in the Boston Public Schools (science, philosophy, Jonathan Kozol
and religion)

Søren Kierkegaard's Journals and Papers (translation of Howard and Edna

manuscripts) Hong (translators)

1969 White over Black: American Attitudes Toward the Negro, 1550–1812 Winthrop D.
(history and biography) Jordan
 (history and biography) Jordan
*In 1980 the National Book Awards became the American Book Awards.
 The Armies of the Night: History as a Novel, the Novel as History
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 
**From 1987 the awards were again known as the National Book Awards. Norman Mailer
(arts and letters)

Death in Life: Survivors of Hiroshima (the sciences) Robert J. Lifton

1970 Huey Long (history and biography) T. Harry Williams

An Un nished Woman: A Memoir (arts and letters) Lillian Hellman

Gandhi's Truth: On the Origins of Militant Nonviolence (philosophy

Erik H. Erikson
and religion)

1971 James MacGregor

Roosevelt: The Soldier of Freedom (history and biography)
Burns

Francis
Cocteau: A Biography (arts and letters)
Steegmuller

Raymond Phineas
Science in the British Colonies of America (the sciences)
Sterns

1972 Eleanor and Franklin: The Story of Their Relationship, Based on

Joseph P. Lash
Eleanor Roosevelt's Private Papers (biography)

Ordeal of the Union, Vol. VII: The Organized War, 1863–1864 and Vol.
Allan Nevins
VIII: The Organized War to Victory, 1864–1865 (history)

The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven (arts and letters) Charles Rosen

The Last Whole Earth Catalogue: Access to Tools (contemporary Stewart Brand
affairs) (editor)

Righteous Empire: The Protestant Experience in America

Martin E. Marty
(philosophy and religion)

The Blue Whale (the sciences) George L. Small

Chance and Necessity: An Essay on the Natural Philosophy of Austryn

Modern Biology (translated from Hasard et la nécessité by Jacques Wainhouse
Monod) (translator)

1973 George Washington, Vol. IV: Anguish and Farewell, 1793–1799 James Thomas
(biography) Flexner

The Children of Pride: A True Story of Georgia and the Civil War Robert Manson
(history) Myers

Judenrat: The Jewish Councils in Eastern Europe Under Nazi

Isaiah Trunk
Occupation (history)
 Diderot
*In 1980 the (arts
National and Awards
Book letters) became the American Book Awards. Arthur M. Wilson
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 
Firethe
**From 1987 in the Lake:
awards Theagain
were Vietnamese and
known as the
the Americans
National BookinAwards.
Vietnam
Frances FitzGerald
(contemporary affairs)

A Religious History of the American People (philosophy and

S.E. Ahlstrom
religion)

The Serengeti Lion: A Study in Predator-Prey Relations (the

George B. Schaller
sciences)

1974 Macaulay: The Shaping of the Historian (biography/history) John Clive

Malcolm Lowry: A Biography (biography) Douglas Day

Deeper into the Movies (arts and letters) Pauline Kael

The Briar Patch: The People of the State of New York v. Lumumba
Murray Kempton
Shakur et al. (contemporary affairs)

Edmund Husserl: Philosopher of In nite Tasks (philosophy and

Maurice Natanson
religion)

Life: The Un nished Experiment (the sciences) S.E. Luria

The Confessions of Lady Nijō (translated from Towazu-gatari by Karen Brazell

Lady Nijō) (translator)

1975 The Life of Emily Dickinson (biography) Richard B. Sewall

The Ordeal of Thomas Hutchinson (history) Bernard Bailyn

Marcel Proust (arts and letters) Roger Shattuck

The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher (arts and letters/the

Lewis Thomas
sciences)

Theodore
All God's Dangers: The Life of Nate Shaw (contemporary affairs)
Rosengarten

Anarchy, State, and Utopia (philosophy and religion) Robert Nozick

Interpretation of Schizophrenia (the sciences) Silvano Arieti

The Agony of Christianity and Essays on Faith (translation of Anthony Kerrigan

Agonía del cristianismo by Miguel de Unamuno) (translator)

1976 The Problem of Slavery in the Age of Revolution, 1770–1823 (history

David Brion Davis
and biography)

The Great War and Modern Memory (arts and letters) Paul Fussell
 Passage
*In 1980 the to Ararat
National (contemporary
Book Awards affairs)
became the American Book Awards. Michael J. Arlen
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 
1977 Norman
**From 1987 Thomas:
the awards The
were Lastknown
again Idealist
as(biography and
the National autobiography)
Book Awards. W.A. Swanberg

World of Our Fathers (history) Irving Howe

The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy

Bruno Bettelheim
Tales (contemporary thought)

1978 Samuel Johnson (biography and autobiography) W. Jackson Bate

The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal,
David McCullough
1870–1914 (history)

Winners and Losers: Battles, Retreats, Gains, Losses, and Ruins

Gloria Emerson
from a Long War (contemporary thought)

In the Deserts of This Earth (translation of In den Wüsten dieser Howard Nemerov
Erde by Uwe George) (translator)

1979 Arthur M.
Robert Kennedy and His Times (biography and autobiography)
Schlesinger, Jr.

Richard Beale
Intellectual Life in the Colonial South, 1585–1763 (history)
Davis

The Snow Leopard (contemporary thought) Peter Matthiessen

1980* Lauren Bacall, By Myself (hardcover autobiography) Lauren Bacall

And I Worked at the Writer's Trade: Chapters of Literary History,

Malcolm Cowley
1918–1978 (paperback autobiography)

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (hardcover biography) Edmund Morris

Max Perkins: Editor of Genius (paperback biography) A. Scott Berg

Julia Child and More Company (hardcover current interest) Julia Child

The Culture of Narcissism (paperback current interest) Christopher Lasch

The Right Stuff (hardcover general non ction) Tom Wolfe

The Snow Leopard (paperback general non ction) Peter Matthiessen

The Complete Directory of Prime Time Network TV Shows: 1946– Tim Brooks and
Present(paperback general reference) Earle Marsh

The White House Years (hardcover history) Henry A. Kissinger

Barbara W.
A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century (paperback history)
Tuchman
*In 1980 the National Book Awards became the American Book Awards.
 The Gnostic Gospels (hardcover religious/inspiration) FREE TRIAL
Elaine Pagels  
**From 1987 the awards were again known as the National Book Awards.
A Severe Mercy (paperback religion/inspiration) Sheldon Vanauken

Douglas
Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (hardcover science)
Hofstadter

The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics

Gary Zukav
(paperback science)

Jane Gary Harris

Osip E. Mandelstam's Complete Critical Prose and Letters
and Constance
(translation of manuscripts by Osip E. Mandelstam)
Link (translators)

1981 Walt Whitman, A Life (hardcover biography) Justin Kaplan

Samuel Beckett (paperback biography) Deirdre Blair

Maxine Hong
China Men (hardcover general non ction)
Kingston

The Last Cowboy (paperback general non ction) Jane Kramer

Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in

Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the John Boswell
Fourteenth Century (hardcover history)

Been in the Storm So Long: The Aftermath of Slavery (paperback

Leon F. Litwak
history)

The Panda's Thumb: More Re ections in Natural History (hardcover

Stephen Jay Gould
science)

The Medusa and the Snail: More Notes of a Biology Watcher

Lewis Thomas
(paperback science)

Francis
The Letters of Gustave Flaubert (translation of manuscripts by
Steegmuller
Gustave Flaubert)
(translator)

1982 Mornings on Horseback (hardcover biography) David McCullough

Walter Lippmann and the American Century (paperback

Ronald Steel
biography)

The Soul of a New Machine (hardcover general non ction) Tracy Kidder

Naming Names (paperback general non ction) Victor S. Navasky

People of the Sacred Mountain: A History of the Northern

 Cheyenne Chiefs and Warrior Societies,1830–1879 (hardcover Peter John Powell
*In 1980 the National Book Awards became the American Book Awards.
 history) FREE TRIAL
 
**From 1987 the awards were again known as the National Book Awards.
The Generation of 1914 (paperback history) Robert Wohl

Donald C.
Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind (hardcover science) Johanson and
Maitland A. Edey

Taking the Quantum Leap: The New Physics for Nonscientists

Fred Alan Wolf
(paperback science)

In the Shade of Spring Leaves: The Life and Writings of Higuchi

Robert Lyons
Ichiyō, a Woman of Letters in Meiji Japan (translation of Higuchi
Danly (translator)
Ichiyō)

1983 Isak Dinesen: The Life of a Storyteller (hardcover biography) Judith Thurman

Nathaniel Hawthorne in His Times (paperback biography) James R. Mellow

China: Alive in the Bitter Sea (hardcover general non ction) Fox Butter eld

National Defense (paperback general non ction) James Fallows

Voices of Protest: Huey Long, Father Coughlin, and the Great

Alan Brinkley
Depression (hardcover history)

Frank E. Manuel
Utopian Thought in the Western World (paperback history) and Fritzie P.
Manuel

"Subtle Is the Lord...": The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein
Abraham Pais
(hardcover science)

Philip J. Davis and

The Mathematical Experience (paperback science)
Reuben Hersh

Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Democracy, 1833–

1984 Robert V. Remini
1845

Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three

1985 J. Anthony Lukas
American Families

1986 Arctic Dreams: Imagination and Desire in a Northern Landscape Barry Lopez

1987** The Making of the Atomic Bomb Richard Rhodes

1988 A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam Neil Sheehan

Thomas L.
1989 From Beirut to Jerusalem
Friedman
*In 1980 the
TheNational Book Awards
Anbecame theBanking
American Book Awards.

1990
House of Morgan: American Dynasty and the RiseFREE TRIAL
Ron Chernow  
of Modern Finance
**From 1987 the awards were again known as the National Book Awards.

1991 Freedom, Vol. I: Freedom in the Making of Western Culture Orlando Patterson

1992 Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story Paul Monette

1993 United States: Essays, 1952–1992 Gore Vidal

1994 How We Die: Re ections on Life's Final Chapter Sherwin B. Nuland

1995 The Haunted Land: Facing Europe's Ghosts After Communism Tina Rosenberg

An American Requiem: God, My Father, and the War That Came

1996 James Carroll
Between Us

1997 American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson Joseph J. Ellis

1998 Slaves in the Family Edward Ball

1999 Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II John W. Dower

Nathaniel
2000 In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
Philbrick

2001 The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression Andrew Solomon

2002 Master of the Senate, Vol. III: The Years of Lyndon Johnson Robert A. Caro

2003 Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy Carlos Eire

Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz
2004 Kevin Boyle
Age

2005 The Year of Magical Thinking Joan Didion

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the
2006 Timothy Egan
Great American Dust Bowl

2007 Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA Tim Weiner

Annette Gordon-
2008 The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family
Reed

2009 The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt T.J. Stiles

2010 Just Kids Patti Smith

Stephen
2011 The Swerve: How the World Became Modern
Greenblatt

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai

2012 K th i B
 2012 Katherine Boo
Undercity
*In 1980 the National Book Awards became the American Book Awards.
 FREE TRIAL
 
**From 1987
2013 Thethe awards were
Unwinding: An again known as
Inner History of the
the National Book Awards.
New America George Packer

Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New

2014 Evan Osnos
China

2015 Between the World and Me Ta-Nehisi Coates

Stamped from the Beginning: The De nitive History of Racist Ideas

2016 Ibram X. Kendi
in America

2017 The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia Masha Gessen

2018 The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke Jeffrey C. Stewart

*In 1980 the National Book Awards became the American Book Awards.

**From 1987 the awards were again known as the National Book Awards.

Winners Of The National Book Award For

Poetry

Winners of the National Book Award for poetry are listed in the table.

National Book Awards—Poetry

year title author

1950 Paterson: Book III and Selected Poems William Carlos Williams

1951 The Auroras of Autumn Wallace Stevens

1952 Collected Poems Marianne Moore

1953 Collected Poems, 1917–1952 Archibald MacLeish

1954 Collected Poems Conrad Aiken

1955 The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens Wallace Stevens

1956 The Shield of Achilles W.H. Auden

1957 Things of This World Richard Wilbur

1958 Promises: Poems, 1954–1956 Robert Penn Warren

Words for the Wind: The Collected Verse of Theodore

 Words for the Wind: The Collected Verse of Theodore
1959 Theodore Roethke
*Award presented
Roethkefor translation.
 FREE TRIAL
 
**In 1980 the National Book Awards became the American Book Awards.
1960 Life Studies Robert Lowell

***From 1987 the awards were again known as the National Book Awards.
The Woman at the Washington Zoo: Poems and
1961 Randall Jarrell
Translations

1962 Poems Alan Dugan

1963 Traveling Through the Dark William Stafford

1964 Selected Poems John Crowe Ransom

1965 The Far Field Theodore Roethke

1966 Buckdancer's Choice: Poems by James Dickey James Dickey

1967 Nights and Days James Merrill

1968 The Light Around the Body Robert Bly

1969 His Toy, His Dream, His Rest: 308 Dream Songs John Berryman

1970 The Complete Poems Elizabeth Bishop

1971 To See, To Take Mona Van Duyn

1972 The Collected Poems of Frank O'Hara Frank O'Hara

Selected Poems Howard Moss

1973 Collected Poems, 1951–1971 A.R. Ammons

Allen Mandelbaum
The Aeneid of Virgil (translation of the Aeneid by Virgil)*
(translator)

1974 Diving into the Wreck: Poems, 1971–1972 Adrienne Rich

The Fall of America: Poems of These States, 1965–1971 Allen Ginsberg

Alternating Current (translation of Corriente alterna by

Helen R. Lane
Octavio Paz)*

1975 Presentation Piece Marilyn Hacker

1976 Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror John Ashbery

1977 Collected Poems, 1930–1976: Including 43 New Poems Richard Eberhart

1978 The Collected Poems of Howard Nemerov Howard Nemerov

1979 Mirabell: Books of Number James Merrill

 César Vallejo:
*Award presented The Complete Posthumous Poetry
for translation. Clayton Eshleman and José
 (translation of César Vallejo's poems)*
FREE TRIAL

Rubin Barcia (translators)

**In 1980 the National Book Awards became the American Book Awards.

1980** Ashes: Poems New & Old Philip Levine

***From 1987 the awards were again known as the National Book Awards.

Hard Labor (translation of Lavorare stanca by Cesare William Arrowsmith

Pavese)* (translator)

1981 The Need to Hold Still Lisel Mueller

1982 Life Supports: New and Collected Poems William Bronk

The Ten Thousand Leaves: A Translation of the

Man'yōshū, Japan's Premier Anthology of Classical Ian Hideo Levy
Poetry*

1983 Selected Poems Galway Kinnell

Country Music: Selected Early Poems Charles Wright

Les Fleurs du Mal (translation of the collection by

Richard Howard (translator)
Charles Baudelaire)*

1984–
not awarded
1990***

1991 What Work Is Philip Levine

1992 New and Selected Poems Mary Oliver

1993 Garbage A.R. Ammons

1994 Worshipful Company of Fletchers James Tate

1995 Passing Through: The Later Poems, New and Selected Stanley Kunitz

1996 Scrambled Eggs & Whiskey: Poems, 1991–1995 Hayden Carruth

1997 Effort at Speech: New and Selected Poems William Meredith

1998 This Time: New and Selected Poems Gerald Stern

1999 Vice: New and Selected Poems Ai

Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems, 1988–

2000 Lucille Clifton
2000

2001 Poems Seven: New and Complete Poetry Alan Dugan

2002 In the Next Galaxy Ruth Stone

2003 The Singing C.K. Williams

 *Award presented for translation.

2004
Door in the Mountain: New and Collected Poems, 1965– FREE TRIAL
Jean Valentine
 
2003
**In 1980 the National Book Awards became the American Book Awards.

***From 1987
2005 the awards
Migration: Newwere
andagain known
Selected as the National Book Awards.
Poems W.S. Merwin

2006 Splay Anthem Nathaniel Mackey

2007 Time and Materials: Poems, 1997–2005 Robert Hass

2008 Fire to Fire: New and Collected Poems Mark Doty

2009 Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy Keith Waldrop

2010 Lighthead Terrance Hayes

2011 Head Off & Split Nikky Finney

2012 Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations David Ferry

2013 Incarnadine Mary Szybist

2014 Faithful and Virtuous Night Louise Glück

2015 Voyage of the Sable Venus Robin Coste Lewis

2016 The Performance of Becoming Human Daniel Borzutzky

2017 Half-light: Collected Poems 1965–2016 Frank Bidart

2018 Indeceny Justin Phillip Reed

*Award presented for translation.

**In 1980 the National Book Awards became the American Book Awards.

***From 1987 the awards were again known as the National Book Awards.

Winners Of The National Book Award For

Young People’s Literature

Winners of the National Book Award for young people’s literature are listed in the
table.

National Book Awards—Young People's Literature

year title author

11969
Award Journey from
presented Peppermint
in children's Street 1
book category. Meindert De Jong
 FREE TRIAL
 
2Award A Day of Pleasure:
presented Stories
in children's of a Boy
literature Growing Up in
category.
1970 Isaac Bashevis Singer
Warsaw 1
3In 1980 the National Book Awards became the American Book Awards.

1971
4 The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian 1 Lloyd Alexander
From 1987 the awards were again known as the National Book Awards.

The Slightly Irregular Fire Engine; or, The Hithering

1972 Donald Barthelme
Thithering Djinn 1

1973 The Farthest Shore 1 Ursula Le Guin

1974 The Court of the Stone Children 1 Eleanor Cameron

1975 M.C. Higgins, the Great 1 Virginia Hamilton

1976 Bert Breen's Barn 2 Walter D. Edmonds

1977 The Master Puppeteer 2 Katherine Paterson

The View from the Oak: The Private Worlds of Other

1978 Judith and Herbert Kohl
Creatures 2

1979 The Great Gilly Hopkins 2 Katherine Paterson

19803 A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal,

Joan W. Blos
1830–32 (hardcover children's book)

A Swiftly Tilting Planet (paperback children's book) Madeleine L'Engle

1981 The Night Swimmers (hardcover children's book,

Betsy Byars
ction)

Ramona and Her Mother (paperback children's book,

Beverly Cleary
ction)

Alison Cragin Herzig and Jane

Oh, Boy! Babies (hardcover children's book, non ction)
Lawrence Mali

1982 Westmark (hardcover children's book, ction) Lloyd Alexander

Words by Heart (paperback children's book, ction) Ouida Sebestyen

Outside Over There (hardcover children's picture book) Maurice Sendak

Noah's Ark (paperback children's book) Peter Spier

A Penguin Year (children's book, non ction) Susan Bonners

1983 Homesick: My Own Story (hardcover children's ction) Jean Fritz

A Place Apart (paperback children's book, ction) Paula Fox

1Award presented in Fire
children's book category.
 Marked by (paperback children's book, ction) Joyce Carol
FREEThomas
TRIAL  
2Award presented in children's literature category.
Miss Rumphius (hardcover children's picture book) Barbara Cooney
3In 1980 the National Book Awards became the American Book Awards.
Doctor De Soto (hardcover children's picture book) William Steig
4From 1987 the awards were again known as the National Book Awards.
Chimney Sweeps: Yesterday and Today (children's
James Cross Giblin
book, non ction)

1984–
not awarded
19954

1996 Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida Victor Martinez

1997 Dancing on the Edge Han Nolan

1998 Holes Louis Sachar

1999 When Zachary Beaver Came to Town Kimberly Willis Holt

2000 Homeless Bird Gloria Whelan

2001 True Believer Virginia Euwer Wolff

2002 The House of the Scorpion Nancy Farmer

2003 The Canning Season Polly Horvath

2004 Godless Pete Hautman

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two

2005 Jeanne Birdsall
Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the

2006 M.T. Anderson
Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party

2007 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Sherman Alexie

2008 What I Saw and How I Lied Judy Blundell

2009 Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice Phillip Hoose

2010 Mockingbird Kathryn Erskine

2011 Inside Out & Back Again Thanhha Lai

2012 Goblin Secrets William Alexander

2013 The Thing About Luck Cynthia Kadohata

2014 Brown Girl Dreaming Jacqueline Woodson

2015 Ch ll D N l Sh t
 2015 Challenger Deep Neal Shusterman
1Award presented in children's book category.
 FREE TRIAL

John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and

2
2016
Award March: Book
presented Three literature category.
in children's
Nate Powell (artist)
3In1980 the National Book Awards became the American Book Awards.
2017 Far from the Tree Robin Benway
4From 1987 the awards were again known as the National Book Awards.

2018 The Poet X Elizabeth Acevedo

1Award presented in children's book category.

2Award presented in children's literature category.

3In 1980 the National Book Awards became the American Book Awards.

4From 1987 the awards were again known as the National Book Awards.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen, Corrections
Manager.

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