Berkeley— Harryette Mullen’s Sleeping with the Dictionary was named a finalist for the 2002 National Book Critics Circle Award in poetry this week. This is the second major award nomination the book has received since its publication by UC Press last February.

In October, Sleeping with the Dictionary, was one of five poetry books nominated for a 2002 National Book Award, one of the highest honors bestowed on a literary work. Mullen’s work received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly, was featured in the Los Angeles Times, and was recently reviewed by the New York Times.

Los Angeles Times reporter Renee Tawa noted in an article that "Mullen’s work had not attracted widespread acclaim until Sleeping with the Dictionary was published this year…the new book reflects the kind of playful word transformation associated with Lewis Carroll’s ‘Jabberwocky’ and French-based literary experimentalists."

Since the National Book Critics Circle Awards’ debut in 1981, one other UC Press book has received a nomination: Robert D. Richardson’s Mind on Fire: A Biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson. The nomination alone helped boost the book’s reputation and sales, said UC Press Executive Editor Stan Holwitz.

"These award nominations are wonderful for UC Press; it just ratifies that we are publishing great books," Holwitz said.

Mullen, an African-American Studies and English professor at UCLA, explains that Sleeping with the Dictionary literally came from her experience of being poked in the back by her dictionary, while sleeping. The book explores her love of language, word play and experimentation with images.

“Harryette's work is so deserving of this recognition, and these two award nominations send a very positive message about the continued importance of avant-garde poetry," UC Press poetry editor Laura Cerruti noted.

The other poetry book nominees are: Leaving Saturn by Major Jackson (University of Georgia Press); Early Occult Memory Systems of the Lower Midwest by B.H. Fairchild (Norton); The Unswept Room by Sharon Olds (Knopf); and Without End: New and Selected Poems by Adam Zagajewski (FSG). The award will be announced at a ceremony in New York City on February 26, 2003.