Komunyakaa, who is a veteran of the Vietnam War, looks for literary inspiration in jazz and blues.
In its verdict, the Herbert Prize jury described him as "one of the most original and distinctive poets of our time."
Polish poet Tomasz Różycki, who chaired the jury, said of Komunyakaa: ”His voice combines the experience of a black man born in the American South with those of a Vietnam War soldier and an artist brought up in the tradition of jazz and blues.
"While writing about the most painful aspects of the contemporary life in the United States, his message is at the same time universal, referring to the traditions of various cultures.”
American poet and essayist Edward Hirsch, a member of the Herbert Prize jury, described Komunyakaa as an avant-garde classic who never forgets ethical values, remaining “in a life-long search for peace, freedom and social justice.”
Komunyakaa will collect the prize at a ceremony in Warsaw on September 15.
He wrote to the jury that he felt deeply honoured to receive the distinction, all the more so that Herbert is a poet whom he admires.
Komunyakaa’s output includes a dozen poetry volumes. A selection of his poems was published in Poland in 2005, in a translation by Katarzyna Jakubiak. He is also author of the play Gilgamesh: A Verse Play (2006) and of the opera libretto Slip Knot (in collaboration with composer T.J. Anderson).
Launched in 2013, the International Herbert Prize is awarded by a Warsaw-based foundation for outstanding artistic and intellectual achievements inspired by ideas that were central to Herbert’s life and creative work.
Born in 1924, Herbert was one of the most influential 20th-century Polish poets, essayists and moralists. His most popular works include Struna światła (The Chord of Light), Hermes, pies i gwiazda (Hermes, Dog and Star), Barbarzyńca w ogrodzie (The Barbarian in the Garden), and Pan Cogito (Mr. Cogito).
An anti-communist, Herbert gave his wholehearted support to Poland's Solidarity movement in the early 1980s. After the imposition of martial law in the country in December 1981, his poems were recited at clandestine Solidarity meetings.
Zbigniew Herbert, pictured in 1963. Photo: PAP/Cezary Langda
Herbert's honours included the Herder Prize, the Jerusalem Prize and the T.S. Eliot Prize. His works have been translated into about 40 languages. He died in 1998.
(mk/gs)