THE C$80,000 GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE ANNOUNCES CANADIAN and INTERNATIONAL SHORTLIST for 2003 Robin Robertson David Young

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

THE C$80,000 GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE ANNOUNCES CANADIAN and INTERNATIONAL SHORTLIST for 2003 Robin Robertson David Young THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry Trustees: Press Release Margaret Atwood Scott Griffin Robert Hass Michael Ondaatje THE C$80,000 GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE ANNOUNCES CANADIAN AND INTERNATIONAL SHORTLIST FOR 2003 Robin Robertson David Young TORONTO, March 27th — The Griffin Poetry Prize shortlist for 2003 was announced today by Scott Griffin, Chairman of The Griffin Trust. The C$80,000 Griffin Poetry Prize is the most generous international poetry prize for a single volume of poetry, and is awarded annually for the two best books of poetry published in English the previous year anywhere in the world. The seven shortlisted nominees are divided into three Canadian and four International. The Canadian Shortlist Concrete and Wild Carrot • Margaret Avison Brick Books thirsty • Dionne Brand McClelland & Stewart Ltd. Planet Earth: Poems Selected and New • P.K. Page The Porcupine’s Quill, Inc. The International Shortlist Mr. and Mrs. Scotland are Dead: Poems 1980-1994 • Kathleen Jamie Bloodaxe Books Moy sand and gravel • Paul Muldoon Farrar, Straus & Giroux American Sonnets: Poems • Gerald Stern W.W. Norton and Company Steal Away: Selected and New Poems • C.D. Wright Copper Canyon Press The shortlisted poets will be invited to give a reading in Toronto at a Harbourfront Reading Series Special event on June 11th and the two winners, who each receive C$40,000 will be announced at the third Griffin Poetry Prize awards on June 12th. THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry The judges for 2003 are the distinguished poets Michael Longley (Northern Ireland), Sharon Olds (U.S.) and Sharon Thesen (Canada). The Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology, a selection of poems from the 2003 shortlisted books, edited by Sharon Thesen and published by Toronto’s House of Anansi Press, will be available in June. Benefactor Scott Griffin launched The Griffin Prize in September, 2000 with the support of the Trustees Margaret Atwood, Robert Hass, Michael Ondaatje, Robin Robertson and David Young. Based in Toronto, Canada, The Griffin Prize was created to serve and encourage excellence in poetry written in English anywhere in the world. Eligible collections of poetry, which includes translations, must be submitted by publishers in the calendar year of their publication. - 30 - NOTE: The publishers mentioned in our release are those who submitted the books. NOTE TO BOOKSELLERS: Griffin Poetry Prize Shortlist bookmarks and stickers are supplied free of charge by The Griffin Trust. To access the order form, visit our Web site, at http://www.griffinpoetryprize.com/gpp2003-form.html. Winner stickers will be available after June 12th. Please direct other inquiries as follows: General Inquiries: Press and Publicity: Ruth Smith, Manager Prudence Emery, Publicity Director Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Links: Submitting Publishers’ Web sites: Bloodaxe Books - http://www.bloodaxebooks.com/ Farrar, Straus & Giroux - http://www.fsgbooks.com/ W.W. Norton & Company - http://www.wwnorton.com/ Copper Canyon Press - http://www.coppercanyonpress.org/ Brick Books - http://www.brickbooks.ca/ McClelland & Stewart Ltd. - http://www.mcclelland.com/ The Porcupine's Quill, Inc. - http://www.sentex.net/~pql/ Marketing Collateral http://www.griffinpoetryprize.com/gpp2003-form.html Downloadable photographs of 2003 shortlisted poets http://www.griffinpoetryprize.com/pictures.html THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry THE 2003 GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE SHORTLIST CITATIONS AND BIOGRAPHIES The Canadian Shortlist Book: Concrete & Wild Carrot Poet: Margaret Avison Publisher: Brick Books Citation: “If beauty, as Alfred North Whitehead defines it, is “a quality which finds its exemplification in actual occasions,” and if beauty is more completely exemplified in “imperfection and discord” than in the “perfection of harmony,” then Margaret Avison’s Concrete and Wild Carrot is an occasion of beauty. Avison’s poetry is also alive in its sublimity and its humility: “wonder, readiness, simplicity” – the gifts of perception Avison attributes to her Christian faith – imbue every poem in this book with a rare spirit of disorderly love. Margaret Avison is a national treasure. For many decades she has forged a way to write, against the grain, some of the most humane, sweet and profound poetry of our time.” Biography: Margaret Avison was born in 1918 in Galt, Ontario, raised in Regina, Calgary and Toronto, where she completed high school in 1936. She continued her studies at University of Toronto earning a B.A. in 1940 and an M.A. in 1963. Her work has been recognized with two Governor General’s Awards for Poetry (Winter and Sun and No Time), by three honorary doctorates and by an officership in the Order of Canada. One of the poems in Concrete and Wild Carrot (“Prospecting,” retitled from “An-astronomy”) was awarded first place in the category of the Canadian Church Press Awards for 2000. Her other publications include The Dumbfounding, sunblue, Selected Poems, A Kind of Perseverance (prose) and Not Yet Still. The 2003 Griffin Poetry Prize Shortlist Citations and Biographies 1 THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry Book: thirsty Poet: Dionne Brand Publisher: McClelland & Stewart Ltd. Citation: “The word ‘thirsty’ in Dionne Brand’s long poem is a dying man’s last utterance. Shot by the police in his own front yard, Alan is a Christie Pits Jeremiah as well as a tender nurturer of plants, an immigrant and a dreamer who thirsts for “a calming loving spot” among the “conditional places” and “conditional sentences” that perpetuate the marginalisation of the poor. Thirsty is a reckoning with the pretenses of community in the soul-withering environments of today’s mega-cities. But Brand’s luscious and ferocious lines go beyond a critique of dystopian realities to construct, in themselves, in their keen, lyric intelligence, an oasis of truth, compassion, and sensuality.” Biography: Dionne Brand won the Governor-General’s Award for Poetry and the Trillium Award for Literature in 1997 for A Land to Light On, her seventh book of poetry. Her fiction includes the acclaimed novels In Another Place Not Here and At the Full Change of the Moon as well as Sans Souci and Other Stories. Her most recent non- fiction book, A Map to the Door of No Return, was published by Doubleday Canada. Her Griffin-shortlisted book of poetry, thirsty, is also nominated for the Trillium Book Award. In addition to her literary accomplishments, Trinidad-born Brand has directed four documentary films for the National Film Board of Canada, focusing on Black women artists and activists. Brand lectures at Toronto’s York University and at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C. The 2003 Griffin Poetry Prize Shortlist Citations and Biographies 2 THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry Book: Planet Earth: Poems Selected and New Poet: P.K. Page Publisher: The Porcupine’s Quill, Inc Citation: “Elegant, rigorous, fresh, P.K. Page’s work sings with a voice of independent character and maenad conjecture. It is a creature that lives on its own terms and terrain. It is startling, authoritative, and anti-sentimental, able to bear cool as well as passionate gazing at our own species. Her poems are always thinking – each line is thinking, while its six senses remain impeccably alert. Her poems live by wit, wisdom, sass, suspense and a muscular lissome synapse and diction. They are daring in scope, meticulous in accomplishment, and boldly moral – with a lovely flavour of amoral verve! We fall under the charm of her reasoning, of her fecund, fastidious imagination, of her many musics, and of her necessariness to us, her essentialness.” Biography: P.K. Page has written some of the best poems published in Canada over the last five decades. In addition to winning the Governor General’s Award for Poetry in 1957, she was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1999. She is the author of more than a dozen books, including ten volumes of poetry, a novel, selected short stories, three books for children and a memoir, entitled Brazilian Journal, based on her extended stay in Brazil with her late husband Arthur Irwin, who served as the Canadian Ambassador there from 1957 –1959. A two-volume edition of Page’s collected poems, The Hidden Room (P Q L), was published in 1997. Born in England and brought up on the Canadian prairies, Page resides in Victoria, British Columbia. The 2003 Griffin Poetry Prize Shortlist Citations and Biographies 3 THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry The International Shortlist Book: Mr. And Mrs Scotland are Dead: Poems 1980-1994 Poet: Kathleen Jamie Publisher: Bloodaxe Books Citation: “Kathleen Jamie appraises her roots while keeping an eye on far horizons. While there is of course much that is quintessentially Scottish in her poetry, her generous, transfiguring imagination takes in the world - Pakistan, Tibet, the Middle East as well as beloved native landscapes such as Orkney and Tayside. These poems are fleet in their chronicling and abundant in circumstantial detail, but also interior, spiritually entangled. Her humane vision brings to life the dangers of wartime and the peace of home. The edgy amorousness in some of the poems is matched by a chaste utterance that intensifies the erotic charge. She has perfect pitch, a natural sense of cadence and verbal melody that helps to give her work the feel of organic inevitability: her poems make their shapes as a fountain does (and the Jamie fountain is fed by pure spring-water). The lovely surface-shimmer of her poetry beguiles us just as its inner radiance ensures that we will keep returning to it.” Biography: Kathleen Jamie was born in the West of Scotland in 1962. She has received several prestigious awards for her poetry, including the Somerset Maughan Award, a Forward Prize, and a Creative Scotland Award. She has twice won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize.
Recommended publications
  • The Griffin Poetry Prize Announces the 2011 International And
    THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry Trustees: Margaret Atwood Press Release Carolyn Forché Scott Griffin Robert Hass THE GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE ANNOUNCES Michael Ondaatje THE 2011 INTERNATIONAL AND CANADIAN SHORTLIST Robin Robertson David Young TORONTO – April 5, 2011 – Scott Griffin, founder of The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry and David Young, trustee, announced the International and Canadian shortlist for this year’s prize noting that judges Tim Lilburn (Canada), Colm Toíbín (Ireland) and Chase Twichell (USA) each read 450 books of poetry, including 20 translations, from poets in 37 countries around the globe. The seven finalists – three Canadian and four International – will be invited to read in Toronto at Koerner Hall at The Royal Conservatory in the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto on Tuesday, May 31, 2011. The seven finalists will be awarded $10,000 for their participation in the shortlist readings. The winners, announced at the Griffin Poetry Prize Awards evening on Wednesday, June 1, 2011, will be awarded $65,000 each. International Shortlist Human Chain ● Seamus Heaney Farrar, Straus and Giroux Adonis: Selected Poems ● Khaled Mattawa, translated from the Arabic written by Adonis Yale University Press The Book of the Snow ● Philip Mosley, translated from the French written by François Jacqmin Arc Publications Heavenly Questions ● Gjertrud Schnackenberg Farrar, Straus and Giroux Canadian Shortlist Ossuaries ● Dionne Brand McClelland & Stewart The Irrationalist ● Suzanne Buffam House of Anansi Press Lookout ● John Steffler McClelland & Stewart 363 Parkridge Crescent, Oakville, Ontario L6M 1A8, Canada www.griffinpoetryprize.com Tel: 905 618 0420 Email: [email protected] THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry Each year, the Griffin Poetry Prize publishes an anthology, a selection of poems from the shortlisted books, published by House of Anansi Press.
    [Show full text]
  • Kamau Brathwaite's Born to Slow Horses And
    THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry Trustees: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Margaret Atwood KAMAU BRATHWAITE’S BORN TO SLOW HORSES Carolyn Forché AND Scott Griffin SYLVIA LEGRIS’ NERVE SQUALL Robert Hass WIN THE 2006 GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE Michael Ondaatje Robin Robertson Toronto, ON (June 1, 2006) – Kamau Brathwaite and Sylvia Legris are the International and Canadian winners of the 6th annual Griffin Poetry Prize. The C$100,000 Griffin Poetry David Young Prize, the richest prize in the world for a single volume of poetry, is divided between the two winners. The prize is for first edition books of poetry, including translations, published in English in 2005, and submitted from anywhere in the world. The awards event was hosted by Scott Griffin, founder of the prize. Simon Armitage, renowned poet, author and playwright assumed the role of Master of Ceremonies. Judges Lisa Robertson and Eliot Weinberger announced the International and Canadian winners for 2006. More than 400 guests celebrated the awards, including former Governor-General, the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, acclaimed Canadian actors Albert Schultz and Sarah Polley, Senator Jerry Grafstein and his wife Carol, among others. In addition, poets, publishers and other literary luminaries attended the celebration. The evening’s theme was Shangri-La and featured a silk route marketplace replete with banners of fuschia, purple and gold. Hundreds of pigmy orchids and butterflies in a dizzying array of colours adorned the room. The event, which took place at The Stone Distillery in Toronto, offered up a menu of decidedly Asian fusion cuisine. Appetizers included mango and Thai basil sushi rolls, deep-fried plantain, sweet corn tamales, crab cakes on a bed of remoulade, and a sweet potato and jicama salad.
    [Show full text]
  • The Griffin Poetry Prize Announces the 2008 Canadian And
    THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry Trustees : Press Release Margaret Atwood Carolyn Forché THE GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE ANNOUNCES THE 2008 Scott Griffin CANADIAN AND INTERNATIONAL SHORTLIST Robert Hass Michael Ondaatje An Unprecedented 509 Eligible Books Submitted Robin Robertson David Young TORONTO – April 8, 2008 – Scott Griffin, founder of The Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry and David Young, trustee, today announced the Canadian and International shortlist for this year’s prize. The C$100,000 Griffin Poetry Prize is one of the most lucrative poetry prizes in the world, exemplifying the international spirit of the form. The prize is awarded annually for the two best books of poetry, including translations, published in English in the previous year. Judges George Bowering, James Lasdun and Pura López Colomé read 509 books of poetry, including 19 translations, received from 31 countries around the globe. The seven finalists – three Canadian and four International – will be invited to read in Toronto at the MacMillan Theatre on Tuesday, June 3, 2008. The winners, who each receive C$50,000, will be announced on Wednesday, June 4, 2008 at the eighth annual Griffin Poetry Prize Awards Evening . Canadian Shortlist The Holy Forest: Collected Poems of Robin Blaser ● Robin Blaser University of California Press Notebook of Roses and Civilization ● Robert Majzels and Erín Moure, translated from the French, written by Nicole Brossard Coach House Books Why Are You So Sad? Selected Poems of David W. McFadden ● David McFadden Insomniac Press/4
    [Show full text]
  • Margaret Avison's Concrete and Wild Carrot and Paul Muldoon's Moy
    THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry Trustees: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Margaret Atwood Scott Griffin Robert Hass Michael Ondaatje MARGARET AVISON’S CONCRETE AND WILD CARROT AND PAUL MULDOON’S MOY SAND AND GRAVEL Robin Robertson WIN THE 2003 GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE David Young TORONTO, June 12, 2003 – The Canadian and International winners of the 2003 Griffin Poetry Prize are Margaret Avison’s, Concrete and Wild Carrot and Paul Muldoon’s, Moy sand and gravel, it was announced tonight at the third annual awards event. The C$80,000 Griffin Poetry Prize, the richest poetry prize in the world for a single volume of poetry, is divided between the two winners. The prize is for first edition books of poetry published in 2002. The awards event was hosted by Scott Griffin; founder of the prize, Heather McHugh (International winner 2001) was the Emcee, with judges Sharon Olds and Sharon Thesen announcing the Canadian and International winners for 2003. Among the more than 300 guests celebrating the awards were the Guests of Honour, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada and His Excellency John Ralston Saul. In addition, poets, publishers and other literary luminaries attended the celebration which took place in The Stone Distillery (formerly a whiskey distillery), Toronto’s newly renovated centre for the arts, designated a historic site. The two winners will be invited to read at this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival on August 17th, the second year that the Griffin Poetry Prize winners have been showcased at the Edinburgh Festival. Preceding the awards event, the seven short listed poets (three Canadian and four international) read excerpts from their books at a sold-out Special Harbourfront Reading Series Event on June 11th, attended by more than 500 devotees.
    [Show full text]
  • John Ashbery's Notes from The
    THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry Trustees : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Margaret Atwood Carolyn Forché JOHN ASHBERY’S NOTES FROM THE AIR: SELECTED LATER POEMS Scott Griffin Robert Hass AND Michael Ondaatje Robin Robertson ROBIN BLASER’S THE HOLY FOREST: COLLECTED POEMS OF ROBIN BLASER David Young WIN THE 2008 GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE TORONTO, June 4, 2008 – John Ashbery’s Notes from the Air: Selected Later Poems and Robin Blaser’s The Holy Forest: Collected Poems of Robin Blaser are the International and Canadian winners of the eighth annual Griffin Poetry Prize. The C$100,000 Griffin Poetry Prize, the richest poetry prize in the world for a single volume of poetry, is divided between the two winners. The prize is for first edition books of poetry, including translations, published in English in 2007, and submitted from anywhere in the world. The awards ceremony was held in The Fermenting Cellar of The Stone Distillery and hosted by Scott Griffin, founder of the prize. Poet Paul Farley, shortlisted for the 2007 Griffin Poetry Prize, was the featured speaker. Judges George Bowering and James Lasdun announced the International and Canadian winners of the 2008 Griffin Poetry Prize. More than 400 guests celebrated the awards, among them, poets, publishers, and many literary and cultural luminaries, including Canada’s former Governor General, the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, authors Michael Ondaatje and Anne Michaels, and international poets Carolyn Forché, Robert Hass and Robin Robertson. The Fermenting Cellar was transformed into a tropical paradise for the evening, with the bright colours and sounds of the Caribbean islands permeating the historic site.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Press Release, Poet Bios and Citations
    THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry Press Release THE GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE ANNOUNCES Trustees: THE 2019 INTERNATIONAL AND CANADIAN SHORTLIST Mark Doty Carolyn Forché TORONTO – April 9, 2019 – Scott Griffin, on behalf of the trustees of The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry, is pleased to announce the International Scott Griffin and Canadian shortlist for this year’s prize. Judges Ulrikka Gernes (Denmark), Marek Kazmierski Srikanth Reddy (USA), and Kim Maltman (Canada) each read 510 books of Jo Shapcott poetry, from 32 countries, including 37 translations. Karen Solie The authors of the seven shortlisted books —four International and three Canadian—will be invited to read in Toronto at Koerner Hall at The Royal Ian Williams Conservatory in the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor David Young Street West, Toronto, on Wednesday, June 5 at 7.30 p.m. Trustees Emeriti: The finalists will each be awarded $10,000 for their participation in the Shortlist Margaret Atwood Readings. Robert Hass The two winners, to be announced at the Griffin Poetry Prize Awards on Michael Ondaatje Thursday, June 6, will each be awarded $65,000. Robin Robertson International Colm Tóibín The Perseverance ● Raymond Antrobus Penned in the Margins Lake Michigan ● Daniel Borzutzky University of Pittsburgh Press Autobiography of Death ● Don Mee Choi, translated from the Korean written by Kim Hyesoon New Directions Negative Space ● Ani Gjika, translated from the Albanian written by Luljeta Lleshanaku Bloodaxe Books Canadian The Blue Clerk ● Dionne
    [Show full text]
  • THE GRIFFIN TRUST for EXCELLENCE in POETRY RECEIVES RECORD NUMBER of SUBMISSIONS for 2005 PRIZE Robert Hass Michael Ondaatje Robin Robertson David Young
    THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry Trustees: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Margaret Atwood Carolyn Forché Scott Griffin THE GRIFFIN TRUST FOR EXCELLENCE IN POETRY RECEIVES RECORD NUMBER OF SUBMISSIONS FOR 2005 PRIZE Robert Hass Michael Ondaatje Robin Robertson David Young TORONTO, January 19, 2005 – The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry today announced that all submissions for the 2005 Griffin Poetry Prize have been received. This year 431 entries were submitted by publishers before the deadline of midnight, December 31, 2004 to compete for the two annual literary prizes together worth C$80,000 for collections of poetry published in English (including translations) during the preceding year. The Griffin Trust awards one $40,000 prize to a living Canadian poet or translator, the other $40,000 to a living poet or translator from any other country, which may include Canada. Scott Griffin, who founded the literary world’s largest and most coveted poetry award in 2000, is pleased to see the solid rise in entrants which began with 230 submissions 5 years ago, and whose growth reflects an increasing interest in poetry. “It’s satisfying to see the excitement build every year,” said the Chairman of the Trust, “as the Griffin Poetry Prize becomes recognized around the world and we receive a greater number of international submissions.” This year’s 431 entries come from 17 countries, and include translations from 8 different languages. 6610 Edwards Boulevard, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada M5T 2V6 Tel: (905) 565 5993 Fax: (905) 564 3645 www.griffinpoetryprize.com Trustees, Margaret Atwood, Robert Hass, Michael Ondaatje, Robin Robertson, Carolyn Forche and David Young select the judges of each year’s competition.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Press Release, Poet Bios and Citations
    THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry Press Release Trustees: THE 2021 GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE WINNERS Mark Doty Carolyn Forché International Scott Griffin Sarah Howe Music for the Dead and Resurrected Paul Muldoon Valzhyna Mort Karen Solie Aleš Šteger and Ian Williams Canadian Trustees Emeriti: The Dyzgraphxst Margaret Atwood Canisia Lubrin Robert Hass Marek Kazmierski Michael Ondaatje TORONTO – Wednesday, June 23, 2021 – Music for the Dead and Resurrected by Valzhyna Mort, (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) and The Robin Robertson Dyzgraphxst by Canisia Lubrin (McClelland & Stewart) are the Jo Shapcott International and Canadian winners of the 2021 Griffin Poetry Prize, Colm Tóibín each receiving C$65,000 in prize money. The other finalists will be awarded $10,000 each. David Young The Griffin Poetry Prize was founded in 2000 to encourage and celebrate excellence in poetry. The prize is for first edition books of poetry written in, or translated into, English and submitted from anywhere in the world. Judges Ilya Kaminsky (Ukraine), Aleš Šteger (Slovenia), and Souvankham Thammavongsa (Canada) each read 682 books of poetry, including 55 translations from 28 languages, submitted by 231 publishers from 14 different countries. The trustees of The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry select the judges annually. 363 Parkridge Crescent, Oakville, Ontario L6M 1A8, Canada www.griffinpoetryprize.com • Tel: 905 618 0420 • Email: [email protected] THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry The 2021 Griffin Poetry Prize Shortlist : International • Victoria Chang’s Obit, published by Copper Canyon Press • Valzhyna Mort’s Music for the Dead and Resurrected, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux • Srikanth Reddy’s Underworld Lit, published by Wave Books • Tracy K.
    [Show full text]
  • Roo Borson's Short Journey Upriver Toward Oishida and Charles
    THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry Trustees: Mark Doty Carolyn Forché FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Scott Griffin Michael Ondaatje Robin Robertson Karen Solie The Quotations of Bone by Norman Dubie Colm Tóibín David Young and Infinite Citizen of the Shaking Tent Trustees Emeritus: by Liz Howard Margaret Atwood Robert Hass WIN THE 2016 GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE TORONTO – Thursday, June 2, 2016 – The Quotations of Bone by Norman Dubie and Infinite Citizen of the Shaking Tent by Liz Howard are the International and Canadian winners of the 2016 Griffin Poetry Prize. They each received C$65,000 in prize money. The Griffin Poetry Prize was founded in 2000 to encourage and celebrate excellence in poetry. The prize is for first edition books of poetry written in, or translated into, English and submitted from anywhere in the world. The awards ceremony, attended by some 325 invited guests, was held in the Fermenting Cellar in The Distillery Historic District. Scott Griffin, founder of the prize, and trustees Mark Doty, Carolyn Forché, Michael Ondaatje, Robin Robertson, Karen Solie and David Young hosted the event where the guests enjoyed readings by Adam Zagajewski, The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry’s 2016 Lifetime Recognition Award recipient, and a recitation of “I am the People, the Mob” by Carl Sandburg, by the 2016 Bilingual Champion of Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie, Marie Foolchand. The judges for the 2016 Griffin Poetry Prize are Alice Oswald (UK), Tracy K. Smith (US) and Adam Sol (Canada). These distinguished writers and poets each read 633 books of poetry, received from 43 countries around the globe, including 25 translations.
    [Show full text]
  • Roo Borson's Short Journey Upriver Toward Oishida and Charles
    THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry Trustees: Margaret Atwood Carolyn Forché FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Scott Griffin Robert Hass Michael Ondaatje Robin Robertson The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry David Young presents SEAMUS HEANEY with its seventh LIFETIME RECOGNITION AWARD TORONTO – Wednesday, June 6, 2012 – Seamus Heaney, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature ‘for works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth’, was honoured with The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry’s 2012 Lifetime Recognition Award at this evening’s Griffin Poetry Prize Shortlist Readings event. Trustee Robin Robertson paid tribute to Seamus Heaney and presented him with his award. The announcement was met with great enthusiasm and applause from the house. Scott Griffin commented “Seamus Heaney’s acceptance of the Lifetime Recognition Award brings great honour and prestige to the Griffin Poetry awards.” Seamus Heaney was born and educated in Northern Ireland. His first three books of poems were written in the sixties, when he was recognised as one of a new generation of poets from Ulster. In 1972, Heaney moved with his family from Belfast to County Wicklow in the Irish Republic, where his writing deepened and darkened as the northern ‘Troubles’ intensified. During this period he published North, Field Work, Sweeney Astray, and his essay collection, Preoccupations. In the eighties and nineties he continued to publish poetry, prose and translations, including Station Island, Seeing Things, The Cure at Troy (a version of Sophocles’ Philoctetes) and The Redress of Poetry (taken from lectures given during his years as Professor of Poetry at Oxford, 1989-94).
    [Show full text]
  • The Griffin Poetry Prize Announces the 2014 International And
    THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry Trustees: Margaret Atwood Press Release Carolyn Forché Scott Griffin Robert Hass THE GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE ANNOUNCES Michael Ondaatje THE 2014 INTERNATIONAL AND CANADIAN SHORTLIST Robin Robertson David Young TORONTO – April 8, 2014 – Scott Griffin, founder of The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry and poet Jeramy Dodds, announced the International and Canadian shortlist for this year’s prize. Judges Robert Bringhurst (Canada), Jo Shapcott (UK) and C.D. Wright (USA) each read 539 books of poetry, from 40 countries, including 24 translations. The seven finalists—four International and three Canadian—will be invited to read in Toronto at Koerner Hall at The Royal Conservatory in the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor Street West, Toronto, on Wednesday, June 4th at 7.30 p.m. The seven finalists will each be awarded $10,000 for their participation in the Shortlist Readings. The winners, to be announced at the Griffin Poetry Prize Awards on Thursday, June 5th, will each be awarded $65,000. International Pilgrim’s Flower ● Rachael Boast Picador Seasonal Works with Letters on Fire ● Brenda Hillman Wesleyan University Press Silverchest ● Carl Phillips Farrar, Straus and Giroux Colonies ● Mira Rosenthal, translated from the Polish written by Tomasz Różycki Zephyr Press Canadian Red Doc> ● Anne Carson Jonathan Cape and McClelland & Stewart Ocean ● Sue Goyette Gaspereau Press Correspondences ● Anne Michaels McClelland & Stewart 363 Parkridge Crescent, Oakville, Ontario L6M 1A8, Canada www.griffinpoetryprize.com Tel: 905 618 0420 Email: [email protected] THE GRIFFIN TRUST For Excellence In Poetry Each year, The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry presents an anthology of poems selected from the shortlisted books, published by House of Anansi Press.
    [Show full text]
  • For Immediate Release Judges for the 2021
    Trustees: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Mark Doty Carolyn Forché JUDGES FOR THE 2021 Scott Griffin Sarah Howe GRIFFIN POETRY PRIZE ANNOUNCED Marek Kazmierski TORONTO – October 14, 2020 – The trustees of The Griffin Trust For Karen Solie Excellence In Poetry are pleased to announce that Ilya Kaminsky (Ukraine), Aleš Šteger (Slovenia) and Souvankham Thammavongsa Ian Williams (Canada) are the judges for the 2021 Griffin Poetry Prize. David Young Trustees Emeriti: Margaret Atwood Robert Hass Michael Ondaatje Robin Robertson Jo Shapcott Colm Tóibín Ilya Kaminsky was born in Odessa, former Soviet Union in 1977, and arrived in the United States in 1993, when his family was granted asylum by the American government. He is the author of Deaf Republic (Graywolf Press) and Dancing In Odessa (Tupelo Press) and co-editor and co- translated many other books, including Ecco Anthology of International Poetry (Harper Collins) and Dark Elderberry Branch: Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva (Alice James Books). His work received The Los Angeles Times Book Prize, The Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, The American Academy of Arts and Letters' Metcalf Award, and was also shortlisted for the National Book Award, National Book Critics Circle Award, Neustadt International Literature Prize, and T.S. Eliot Prize (UK). He has worked as a law clerk for San Francisco Legal Aid and the National Immigration Law Center. More recently, he worked pro-bono as the Court Appointed Special Advocate for Orphaned Children in Southern California. Currently, he lives in Atlanta, GA, where he teaches at Georgia Tech. 363 Parkridge Crescent, Oakville, Ontario L6M 1A8, Canada Tel: (905) 618 0420 ~ www.griffinpoetryprize.com Aleš Šteger was born in Ptuj, Slovenia.
    [Show full text]