The Nation’s Katha Pollitt has been awarded the thirty-first annual American Book Award’s prestigious "Lifetime Achievement" prize, celebrating her contributions both as an essayist and a poet. This is Pollitt’s first American Book Award; she will be honored on September 19 at the awards ceremony in San Francisco. Pollitt is the author of several collections of essays; her most recent books include Learning to Drive and Other Life Stories(2007) and her second collection of poetry, The Mind-Body Problem (2009). Other ABA winners this year include Amiri Baraka, Dave Eggers and Pamela Ushuk. 

Pollitt has written for The Nation since 1980, and her regular column, "Subject to Debate" has run since 1995. You can read more about the awards here. The ceremony is open to the public. Pollitt’s recent columns can be found here, and information and links for all of Pollitt’s books can be found on her website.