The Shelley Memorial Award of the Poetry Society of America, was established by the will of Mary P. Sears, and named after the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.[1] The prize is given to a living American poet selected with reference to genius and need, and is currently worth (2014) between $6,000 and $9,000.[2] The selection is made by a jury of three poets: one each appointed by the presidents of Radcliffe and Berkeley, and the third by the Board of Governors of the Society.