National Book Award 1964: Complete list of winners

The 1964 National Book Award ceremony marked a significant moment for American letters, honoring the year’s most distinguished literary achievements across multiple categories. Poetry honors went to John Crowe Ransom for Selected Poems, a recognition that celebrated one of the twentieth century’s most influential voices in American verse. Ransom, already a towering figure in literary circles as a Fugitive poet and New Critical theorist, had shaped generations of writers and readers through his precise, intellectually rigorous approach to poetry. His selection underscored the National Book Award’s commitment to recognizing established masters alongside emerging talents—a balance the award has maintained throughout its history as one of America’s most prestigious literary honors.

The 1964 National Book Award winners reflected the diverse landscape of American publishing at a pivotal moment in the nation’s cultural life. These selections were particularly noteworthy for celebrating both the experimental and the traditional, ensuring that the award’s scope remained broad enough to encompass the full spectrum of literary merit. The recognition of Ransom’s carefully curated Selected Poems demonstrated how the award valued not just new work, but also the retrospective assessment of a poet’s lifetime achievement—a practice that has made the National Book Award such an important barometer of literary taste across the decades.

Here are the complete 1964 National Book Award winners:

Poetry

• Selected Poems by John Crowe Ransom