National Book Award 1966: Complete list of winners

The 1966 National Book Award recognized some of the year’s most significant literary achievements, with James Dickey’s Buckdancer’s Choice: Poems taking home the prize in the Poetry category. Dickey’s collection marked a defining moment for American poetry in the mid-1960s, showcasing his distinctive voice and technical mastery at a time when the literary establishment was increasingly receptive to ambitious, formally complex verse. The National Book Award itself had become one of the most prestigious honors in American letters by this point, carrying real weight in determining which works would endure in the cultural conversation.

Dickey’s win was particularly noteworthy given the competitive landscape of mid-century American poetry. Buckdancer’s Choice demonstrated his gift for narrative intensity and emotional depth, qualities that would cement his reputation as one of the era’s most important poets. The collection’s success at the National Book Award underscored how the 1960s were proving to be a generationally transformative moment for poetry, as poets worked to expand the genre’s possibilities both formally and thematically.

Poetry

• Buckdancer’s Choice: Poems by James Dickey