Robert Bly has been awarded this year's "Frost Medal" by the Poetry Society of America for "distinguished lifetime achievement in poetry."

Robert Bly, a legendary figure in American poetry has been awarded the "Frost Medal" by the Poetry Society of America for "distinguished lifetime achievement in poetry." According to the society, Bly has been elementary in introducing American readers to the "riches of European and Latin American poetry" through works that he translated as well as through his own volume of works.

Bly has more than 30 books to his credit. He was a major voice during the Vietnam War. He is known for being one of the leaders of "the expressive men's movement." His book "Iron John: A Book About Men," gave the poet national fame and was highly acclaimed by many. Another book, "The Light around the Body," which was published in 1967 won him the National Book Award.

Bly was born and lived most of his life in Minneapolis. He graduated from Harvard University and is also a former Minnesota poet laureate. While on a trip to Norway, the poet discovered that many Latin American and European fellow poets were unknown or unexposed to North American audiences. Some of them included Georg Trakl, Pablo Neruda, 14th-century Persian poet Hafez and Tomas Transtromer. Bly began his poetic career as a nature poet, but after he co-founded the American Writers against the Vietnam War in the 1960s, his poems turned more political.

Minneapolis-based Graywolf Press will publish "Airmail," this April. The book is a collection of letters between Bly and his Nobel Prize-winning friend, Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer.