The New England Poetry Club is proud to honor Martha Collins as the 2025 recipient of the Golden Rose Award, one of the nation’s oldest prizes for poets. The Golden Rose celebrates a lifetime of achievement in poetry as well as service to the art, and Collins exemplifies both.
A Distinguished Career in Poetry
Martha Collins is the author of eleven books of poetry, most recently Casualty Reports (Pittsburgh, 2022). Her collection, Because What Else Could I Do, received the Poetry Society of America’s William Carlos Williams Award, adding to her long list of recognitions.
Her body of work also includes three groundbreaking books that confront the history and legacy of race in America: Blue Front, White Papers, and Admit One: An American Scrapbook. Additionally, Collins has co-translated five volumes of Vietnamese poetry, thereby expanding the reach of international voices for English-language readers.
Educator, Mentor, and Advocate
Beyond her achievements on the page, Collins has profoundly shaped the landscape of American poetry as a teacher and editor. She founded the creative writing program at UMass Boston and later spent a decade at Oberlin College as the Pauline Delaney Professor of Creative Writing. During that time, she also served as an editor of FIELD magazine and the Oberlin College Press, fostering a vibrant literary community and supporting generations of poets.
Celebrating a Life in Poetry
The Golden Rose recognizes poets not only for their artistry but also for their dedication to poetry itself. Martha Collins has given generously of her talent, her teaching, and her vision, helping to sustain poetry as both a literary and communal force.
We are thrilled to celebrate her extraordinary contributions with the 2025 Golden Rose Award.