Claudia Emerson was named the 2006 Pulitzer Prize winner for poetry Monday for her book “Late Wife.”
“Late Wife” is Emerson’s third book to be published by the Louisiana State University Press.
This is the fourth Pulitzer Prize an LSU Press publication has won – three for poetry and one for fiction.
LSU Press Executive Editor John Easterly described the collection of poetry as “women’s poetry” and said the book has images of domestic life and reflects on ideas of women and marriage.
The book is divided into three sections of poetry, Easterly said.
The first section is about Emerson’s divorce from her first husband.
The second section is about Emerson’s life after her divorce and single life.
The third section is about her second marriage to a widower who had lost his wife to cancer a year before Emerson met him.
Emerson said the title of the book alludes to the ideas within the book on several levels – a late wife after divorce and the late wife of her second husband.
Tom Harang, publicity and copy assistant for LSU Press, said the book is “confessional” and “autobiographical,” but he said her work stands out from common self-reflective work.
The book is part of the LSU Press series titled “Southern Messenger Poets,” which prints two poets’ works a year. The program was started by Dave Smith, a former University professor who now teaches at Johns Hopkins University.
Harang said the independent non-profit organization publishes works of authors around the country and across the world.
Harang said LSU Press prints twice a year and is known for publishing large amounts of poetry.
“The Pulitzer goes to the author,” Harang said. “We thought well of her; that’s why we publish her. It adds to our prestige; it’s absolutely the most important book award in the country.”
 
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