- NATIONAL BOOK AWARD November 18, 1999 The National Book awards were announced last night in New York. Awards were given for poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and children's literature. Elizabeth Farnsworth begins a series of conversations with the winning authors. ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: The winner for poetry this year is known as Ai, a Japanese word meaning love. She won the award for Vice, a book ...www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/poems/july-dec99/nba_11-18.html