English Professor Kenneth Koch has been named a finalist for the inaugural Phi Beta Kappa Poetry Award competition. Koch and the four other finalists will participate in a public reading at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.

Koch's entry, New Addresses (Knopf 2000), employs the poetic device of apostrophe to discuss topics ranging from World War II to the Unknown. His other works include Rose, Where Did You Get That Red? Teaching Great Poetry to Children (Random House1990) and The Art of Poetry (Michigan 1996). Koch, a playwright, wrote the libretto for composer Marcello Panni's "The Banquet." He has previously won awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters as well as the Fulbright, Guggenheim and Ingram-Merrill Foundations.

The winner will be announced on Friday, Nov. 16 and will receive $10,000 and a bronze medal.

Allan and David Winston established the award through the Winston Foundation to honor their late parents, Joseph and May Winston. The award's purpose is to honor the complementary missions of Phi Beta Kappa and the Winston Foundation: to foster excellence in the liberal arts and sciences.