Andrei Bely Prize Andrei Bely Prize The Andrei Bely Prize (Russian: Премия Андрея Белого; "Premiya Andreya Belovo") is the oldest independent literary prize awarded in Russia. It was established in 1978 by the staff of "Hours", the largest samizdat literary journal in Leningrad, to recognize excellence in three categories: prose, poetry, and theory. Among its founders were Boris Ivanov, Boris Ostanin, Viktor Krivulin, Arkadii Dragomoshchenko, and other eminent figures of uncensored literature. The prize was named for Andrei Bely, whose influence spanned Russian poetry, prose, and humanitarianism. Materially, the prize consisted of an apple, a single ruble, and a bottle of vodka. Despite
Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry of Congress in 1949 adopted a policy prohibiting the Library henceforth from granting any more awards or prizes. James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, is quoted as stating: "The family relation to the Library is a great love story and it is too good not to want to savor, commemorate and celebrate." Three-time Poet Laureate, Robert Pinsky, said of the Prize in 2000, "I don't know of any other literary prize that has such a high standard." Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry The Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry is awarded biennially by the Library of Congress on