Ryann Stevenson Wins 2021 Max Ritvo Poetry Prize
We are thrilled to announce that Ryann Stevenson is the winner of the 2021 Max Ritvo Poetry Prize. Her manuscript Human Resources was selected by judge Henri Cole and will be published in June 2022. In addition to publication, Stevenson will receive $10,000.
Ryann Stevenson’s poems have appeared in The Adroit Journal, American Letters & Commentary, Bennington Review, Columbia Poetry Review, The Cortland Review, Denver Quarterly, and Linebreak, among others. She lives in Oakland, California.
Cole describes Human Resources as follows:
“The controlled anxiety of the present is captured brilliantly by this wary, lucid book. We live in an era when our humanness is worn down—by virtual beings, bots, synced devices, battery life, data, radiation, sulfates, and lead—so we must practice mindfulness to keep from losing track of who we are. This brave, tough book suggests that flowering maples, yoga, orcas, and the hands of our mothers might help us preserve our innocence. Human Resources is a lyric transcript of what it is to be a citizen at a punishing time.”
Thank you to the Alan B. Slifka Foundation and its president, Riva Ariella Ritvo-Slifka, for supporting the Max Ritvo Poetry Prize.
MAX RITVO’S LEGACY
“All poets are heroes. Your book is your hero story. Take your reader on an adventure.”
—Max Ritvo
Max came into our life at Milkweed Editions in May 2016 and quickly became our hero. Although he passed away just four months later, our experience publishing Four Reincarnations has underscored what it means to champion writers who are our heroes. We are delighted and deeply honored to celebrate Max’s legacy with this prize, and to continue publishing outstanding emerging poets. Thank you to the Alan B. Slifka Foundation and its president, Riva Ariella Ritvo-Slifka, for supporting the Max Ritvo Poetry Prize.
Previous Max Ritvo Poetry Prize winners include Worldly Things by Michael Kleber-Diggs, The Clearing by Allison Adair, The Milk Hours by John James, and North American Stadiums by Grady Chambers.
Learn more about the Max Ritvo Poetry Prize and our poetry prizes here.
Ryann Stevenson
Ryann Stevenson is the author of Human Resources, selected by Henri Cole as winner of the 2021 Max Ritvo Poetry Prize. Her poems have appeared in the Adroit Journal, American Letters & Commentary, Bennington Review, Columbia Poetry Review, Cortland Review, Denver Quarterly, and Linebreak, among others. She lives in Oakland, California.
Winner of the Max Ritvo Poetry Prize, Ryann Stevenson’s Human Resources is a sobering and perceptive portrait of technology’s impact on connection and power.
