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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Poet Laureate Honored For ‘Sun Under Wood’

David Streitfeld The Washington Post

Poet Laureate Robert Hass won a National Book Critics Circle award Tuesday night for his collection “Sun Under Wood.”

Hass’ award was accepted by his publisher, Dan Halpern, who said Hass has worked tirelessly for the cause of verse during his term, “and now he gets something back.”

Gina Berriault, author of “Women in Their Beds,” a collection of 35 stories, was moved to tears by the announcement of her fiction prize. “I have no speech prepared. I’m not ready,” she told the crowd of 150 reviewers, publishers and authors gathered at New York University Law School.

Her book was cited for “some of the most luminous stories in American fiction.”

Although she has written three previous story collections and four novels, Berriault was definitely the dark-horse candidate in her category.

Frank McCourt, author of “Angela’s Ashes,” was exactly the opposite. His much-lauded memoir of his Irish childhood, which won in the biography/autobiography category, probably has outsold all the other nominees in the five categories put together.

“I have to find some time to set back with my wife and make sense of it all,” said a bemused McCourt. A high-school teacher for most of his life, McCourt wrote the book, his first, in his early 60s.

The criticism award went to William Gass for “Finding a Form.”

In general nonfiction, the award was won by expatriate Brit Jonathan Raban for “Bad Land,” an examination of the harsh history of the Great Plains.

Raban noted that most prize juries in his native country are made up of politicians and celebrities. He said he appreciated getting a prize from “serious colleagues in the writing business.”

That’s the big honor of the NBCC awards, which are not accompanied by any cash.