The Howard Nemerov Sonnet Award was established in 1994 by The Formalist, a poetry magazine founded by William Baer. The award honors the poet Howard Nemerov, who died in 1991. It is an open competition for sonnets in English that draws about 3000 entries annually.[1][2] The award itself is $1000. From 1995-2004, the sonnets by the winner and by eleven finalists were published in The Formalist; following the discontinuation of The Formalist in 2004, the winning and eleven finalist poems have been published in the literary magazine Measure. The creation of the award is associated with the "New Formalism" movement of late 20th Century poetry.
The winners and final judges from 1994-2008 are posted on a webpage of The Formalist;[3] References for subsequent winners are provided in the table.
| Year | Poet | Sonnet | Judge |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Catherine Chandler[4] | Coming to Terms | A. E. Stallings |
| 2009 | Richard Wakefield[5] | Petrarch | David Middleton |
| 2008 | Stephen Scaer | Sightseers | Timothy Steele |
| 2007 | A. M. Juster[2] | No | Frederick Turner |
| 2006 | Robert W. Crawford | The Empty Chair | Andrew Hudgins |
| 2005 | Marion Shore | Petrarch on West 115th Street | Charles Martin |
| 2004 | A. E. Stallings | Hank Williams Blues | Rachel Hadas |
| 2003 | Rhina Espaillat | Discovery | Dana Gioia |
| 2002 | Marion Shore | Embarking | Wyatt Prunty |
| 2001 | Deborah Warren | Baggage | X. J. Kennedy |
| 2000 | A. M. Juster | Note from Echo | W. D. Snodgrass |
| 1999 | Bob McKenty | Chain Poem | Wendy Cope |
| 1998 | Rhina Espaillat | Contingencies | John Frederick Nims |
| 1997 | Madeleine Mysko | Incipient Fireworks | Donald Justice |
| 1996 | Timothy Murphy | The Track of the Storm | Anthony Hecht |
| 1995 | A. M. Juster | Moscow Zoo | Mona Van Duyn |
| 1994 | Sarah Birnbaum | Jo Painted | Richard Wilbur |