Pines is a two time Pushcart Prize nominee for Pines Songs in 1993 and Hotel Madden Poems in 1991. He is the recipient of the Adirondack Center for Writing Award for Fishing on the Pole Star, Best Book of Poetry in 2014; New Orleans Variations & Paris Ouroboros, Best Book of Poetry in 2013; Reflections in a Smoking Mirror, Best Book of Poetry in 2012; My Brother's Madness, Best Memoir 2007 and the Best Poetry Book of an Artists' Fellowship, New York State Foundation for the Arts, 1984. Last Call at the Tin Palace was cited by Bob Holman in “Poetry Picks — The Best Books of 2009." He was also honored by the Friends of the Albany Public Library, November 2014
