Prize: Doris Brett, The Truth about UnicornsCanada Gerald Lampert Award: Paulette Jiles, Celestial Navigation 1985 Governor General's Awards: Fred Wah, Waiting for Saskatchewan (English); André Roy, Action writing (French) Pat Lowther Award: Paulette Jiles, Celestial Navigation Prix Émile-Nelligan: Anne-Marie Alonzo, Bleus de mineUnited Kingdom Cholmondeley Award: Dannie Abse, Peter Redgrove, Brian Taylor Eric Gregory Award: Graham Mort, Adam Thorpe, Pippa Little, James Harpur, Simon North, Julian May United States Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize: Liz Rosenberg, The Fire Music American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal in Poetry, Robert Penn Warren AML Award for poetry to Emma Lou Thayne Bernard F. Connors Prize for Poetry: James Schuyler, "A Few Days" Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress (later the post would be called "Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress"): Gwendolyn Brooks appointed this year. Frost Medal: Robert Penn Warren Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Carolyn Kizer: Yin Whiting Awards (inaugural year): Douglas Crase, Jorie Graham, Linda Gregg, James Schuyler Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets: Amy Clampitt and Maxine Kumin Births September 28 – Helen Mort, English poet December 22 – Kae Tempest, English performance poet Deaths Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article: January 16 – Robert Fitzgerald, 74 (born 1910), American poet and translator from classical languages January 30 – F. R. Scott, 85 (born 1899), Canadian poet and constitutional expert February 22 – Salvador Espriu, 71 (born 1913), Spanish Catalan poet March 30 – J. V. Cunningham (born 1911), American poet, literary critic and teacher April 17 – Basil Bunting, 85 (born 1900), English poet May 12 – Josephine Miles, 73 (born 1911), American poet and literary critic May 25 – Robert Nathan, 91, of kidney failure, American novelist and poet August 14 – Alfred Hayes, 74, of meningitis, English-born American writer of the labor song "Joe Hill" August 19 – Yamazaki Hōdai 山崎方代 (born 1914), Japanese, Shōwa period tanka'' poet September 22 – D. J. Opperman, 70, South African Afrikaans poet October 26 – Kikuko Kawakami 川上 喜久子 (born 1904), Japanese, Shōwa period novelist, short-story writer and poet, a woman October 31 – Nikos Engonopoulos, 81, Greek poet November 25 – Geoffrey Grigson, 80, English poet December 2 – Philip Larkin, 63, of throat cancer, English poet December 7 – Robert Graves, 90 (born 1895), English-born writer and poet December 22 – Vailoppilli Sreedhara Menon (born 1911),