The Los Angeles Times selected English and creative writing professor Thomas Sleigh as a finalist for the 1999 LATimes Book Prize in poetry for his anthology "The Dreamhouse."
The collection of poems excel at describing certain moods in great detail, and often contain references to Greek and Latin myths.
The distinction comes after a series of awards presented to Sleigh, including the Shelley Memorial Award in 1999 and the Lila Wallace-Readers Digest Award in 1993. His book "Waking," was selected by the New York Times as a Notable Book of the Year in 1990.
Sleigh's books have been recognized by many critics as well.
"Through sheer artistry, Tom Sleigh manages to write ... in a transcendent way, and without appeal to the metaphysical assumptions transcendence usually requires," wrote Gary Jacobik in The Boston Globe.
The New York Times' Liz Rosenberg called Sleigh "nearly as prodigal with his gifts as Yeats."
Sleigh, who has been teaching at Dartmouth since 1986, has written four books of poetry, three plays and a translation of Euripides' Herakles. He is also an advisory editor of Agni Review and a contributing editor at the Boston Review. He is currently a visiting professor at Johns Hopkins University.
The winners of the $1,000 cash prize will be announced on April 29. Past recipients of the award include Allen Ginsberg, Henry Kissenger, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Carl Sagan.
The 1998 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for poetry was awarded to Alice Notley's "Mysteries of Small Houses."
Sleigh could not be reached for comment.
