Emily Chamberlain Cook Prizes in Poetry
Established in 1909
Description. The Emily Chamberlain Cook Prizes in Poetry are awarded for the most outstanding single unpublished poem. Both graduates and undergraduates are free to write at any length, in any meter, and upon any subject. Up to four winners may be chosen at the judge's discretion. For complete information read the General Rules.
Prize Amount. Prizes are approximately $300. Federal financial aid regulations require that all awards received by a student can not exceed their financial aid need as determined by a congressional formula. It is possible, therefore, that the cash award for a prize could reduce some component of a needy student’s package of financial aid awards. In these cases, the Financial Aid Office attempts first to reduce loan or work aid; fellowships, grants, or scholarships are only reduced as a last resort.
Deadline. Submissions must be hand-delivered by the author to the Undergraduate Scholarships, Prizes and Honors Office, 220 Sproul Hall, no later than 4 p.m. on December 1. The author's name must not appear on the entry.
History of the Prize. Yale University Professor Albert S. Cook, formerly on the UC Berkeley faculty, endowed this prize with $1,000. As noted in the August 10, 1909 minutes of the Regents of the University of California, Professor Cook specified that " it is highly desirable" that the prize be awarded "for a poem which reflects honor upon the University, when viewed in the light of the best precedents furnished by England and this country." Professor Cook further specified that "the University shall be free at any time to reprint the poem as it may choose."
2010-11: 40 entries; Laura Ferris, Kathryn Hindenlang, Tara Phillips, and Patricia Yen ($525 each)
2009-10: 46 entries; Joe Cadora, Ashley Lystne, Eamon O'Connor, and Gillian Osborne ($550 each)
2008-09: 36 entries; Natasha Arora, Pamela Krayenbuhl, Steven Lance, and Craig Perez ($500 each)
2007-08: 20 entries; Meredith Higgins and Clifford Mak ($150)
2006-07: 38 entries; Hillary Gravendyk, Jeremy Graves, Marisa Libbon, and Yosefa Raz ($300 each)
2005-06: 49 entries; Olivia Friedman ($300)
2004-05: 48 entries; Edgar Garcia, Dorian Gesler, and Shanyin Chang ($300 each)
2003-04: 55 entries; Ellen Samuels , Laura Wetherington, Christine Harrison, and Jessica Zychowicz ($300 each)
2002-03: 29 entries; Kimberly Johnson ($300)
2001-02: 36 entries; Sandra Lim, Marisa Libbon, Yasmin Golan, & Lynley Lys ($300 each)
2000-01: 34 entries; Emily Beall ($600), David Ruderman ($400), Jasmine Bina ($200)
1999-00: 37 entries; winners Julie Anderson, Ben Chaika, Elizabeth Hillman, & Kimberly Johnson, ($300 each)
1998-99: 63 entries; first prize awarded to Kimberly Johnson ($500); second prize awarded to Gibson Fay-LeBlanc ($500)
1997-98: 55 entries; first prize awarded to Nadia Nurhussein ($300); runner-ups awarded to Emily Abendroth, Robyn Brooks, Delphine Hwang, and Padraig Riley ($150 each)