Poems Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize: Anthony Hecht Whiting Awards: Michael Burkard, Li-Young Lee, Sylvia Moss Fellowship of the Academy of American Poets: Donald Justice Births 19 June – Sarah Kay, American poet 1 August – Warsan Shire, African-born British poet 1 October – Michaela Coel, English poet, singer-songwriter, screenwriter, actress and playwright 14 October – Ocean Vuong, Vietnamese-born American poet Jay Bernard, English writer and artist Andrew McMillan, English poet and lecturer Deaths Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in poetry" article: January 3 – Rose Ausländer, 86 (born 1901), Jewish poet writing in German February 3 – Robert Duncan, 69 (born 1919), American poet, heart attack March 19 – Máirtín Ó Direáin, 77 (born 1910), Irish poet writing in the Irish language March 26 – Henri Coulette, 60 (born 1927), American poet March 30 – John Clellon Holmes, 62 (born 1926), American poet and beat novelist, cancer May 3 – Premendra Mitra (born 1904) Bengali poet, novelist, short-story writer, including thrillers and science fiction June 16 – Miguel Piñero, 41 (born 1946), Puerto Rican-born American playwright, actor and co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café, cirrhosis of the liver June 27 – Léonie Adams, 88 (born 1899), American poet July 24 – Mira Schendel, 69 (born 1919), Swiss-born Brazilian modernist artist and poet September 18 – Mohammad-Hossein Shahriar, 81 (born 1906), Iranian Azari poet October 1 – Sir Sacheverell Sitwell, 90 (born 1897), English writer and arts critic November 2 – Stewart Parker, 47 (born 1941), Northern Irish poet and playwright November 8 – Hamad al-Hajji, 49 (born 1939), Saudi Arabian poet See also Poetry List of years in poetry List of poetry awards References 20th-century poetry Poetry