The judges this year summarised the award: ‘Allen’s essay tells the story of Moore’s visit to Harvard during the week after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and details how the pressure of the moment inflected her reading of “Spenser’s Ireland” recorded there. The essay gives us new ways to think about ongoing issues of interest in Moore studies: revision, her evolution as a “media strategist,” the shift in her writing style in the 1940s, her archive. “‘Spenser’s Ireland,’ December 1941″ opens up issues of sound recording and performance relevant beyond Moore as well. We appreciated Allen’s lively writing and archival finds, and we are pleased to recognize his essay’s contribution to Moore studies.‘