The result of this endeavor led to the publication of many poems. Robert Hass, the chairman of the Western States Book Award Committee, wrote glowingly of his work and chose his 1988 book, "Desire: Selected Poems, 1963-1987" to win the first prize for poetry. He has twice been honored by the Poetry Foundation, once with a $3,000 and again with a $10,000 prize. And he has twice been honored by the National Endowment for the Arts. He won the college prize for the first poem he ever published.