Poet and teacher Isabel Neal has been selected as the winner of the 2025 Yale Younger Poets award, a prestigious honor recognizing emerging American poets.
Neal’s manuscript, Thrown Voice, was chosen by acclaimed poet Rae Armantrout and will be published by Yale University Press in April 2026. The Yale Series of Younger Poets prize, awarded annually since 1919, is the longest-running poetry award in the United States.
This marks the fifth selection by Armantrout since she became the competition’s judge, succeeding Carl Phillips.
A Rising Voice in Poetry
Neal, who resides in Maine, has received fellowships from Lighthouse Works, the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, and the Vermont Studio Center. Her poetry is known for its keen observational style and evocative language.
“When Isabel Neal writes, ‘Tide uncovers a bare shoulder of thought/This wide flex/I want to watch all day,’ I believe she does want to and that, in fact, she just may have,” Armantrout said. “Patient observation is one of her gifts. Not the only one either. The word choices in these lines are fresh and striking.”
Armantrout compared Neal’s work to that of 20th-century American poet Lorine Niedecker, noting her deep attention to place and sound.
Neal’s Reaction and Legacy of the Prize
Neal expressed gratitude for the recognition, saying the award left her “so moved and grateful.”
“Reading and sharing in poetry — including many of the books in the Yale Series of Younger Poets — has made my writing possible,” she said. “I am full of wonder that my first book will be included in the series.”
The Yale Younger Poets award has previously recognized major literary figures such as Adrienne Rich, John Ashbery, and Robert Hass. Winners also receive a writing fellowship at the James Merrill House in Stonington, Connecticut, offering them a quiet retreat to complete literary projects.
The publication of Thrown Voice will mark the 120th volume in the historic series. The most recent volume, John Liles’ Bees, and after, was published last month.
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