Griffin Poetry Prize

Griffin Poetry Prize
Awarded for Canadian and International awards for poetry written in or translated into English
Country Canada
Presented by Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry and Scott Griffin
First awarded 2001
Official website http://www.griffinpoetryprize.com

The Griffin Poetry Prize is Canada's most generous poetry award. It was founded in 2000 by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin. The awards go to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language.[1]

Effective 2010, the annual Griffin Poetry Prize was doubled from CAD$100,000 to CAD$200,000 in recognition of the prize’s tenth anniversary.[2] [3] The increased amount of $100,000 will be awarded as follows: CAD$10,000 to each of the seven shortlisted – four international and three Canadian – for their participation in the shortlist readings. The winners, announced at the Griffin Poetry Prize Awards evening, will be awarded CAD$65,000 each, for a total of CAD$75,000 that includes the CAD$10,000 awarded at the readings the previous evening.[4]

History

In April 2000, Scott Griffin started the Griffin Trust to raise public awareness of the crucial role poetry plays in society's cultural life. Griffin served as its Chairman, with Trustees Margaret Atwood, Robert Hass, Michael Ondaatje, Robin Robertson and David Young. In June 2004, Carolyn Forché joined the board of Trustees. In 2014, Margaret Atwood and Robert Hass moved to the role of trustees emeritus, and Karen Solie, Colm Toibin and Mark Doty joined as new trustees.

The Trust created the Griffin Poetry Prize with the aim of helping to introduce contemporary collections of poetry to the public's imagination. Originally, the award was two annual prizes of CAD$40,000 each, for collections of poetry published in English during the preceding year.[5] One prize for a living Canadian poet, the other to a living poet from any other country, which could include Canada. Qualified judges are selected annually by the Trustees. The prize shortlists are announced in April (National Poetry Month) every year. The shortlisted poets gather for an evening of public readings every May/June, and the winners are announced and all of the poets are feted the following evening.

Eligible collections of poetry must have been published between January 1 and December 31 of the prior year. Submission must come from the publishers only.

In November 2010, Scott Griffin announced a new Griffin Trust initiative called Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie, a bilingual recitation contest for high school students across Canada.[6] [7]

Finalists, Judges and Lifetime Recognition Recipients

Winners are listed first and highlighted with bold.

2001

Canada:

International:

Judges:

Guest performer at awards ceremony: Gord Downie

2002

Canada:

International:

Judges:

Guest host at awards ceremony: Albert Schultz

2003

Canada:

International:

Judges:

Guest speaker at awards ceremony: Heather McHugh

2004

Canada:

International:

Judges:

2005

Canada:

International:

Judges:

Guest speaker at awards ceremony: August Kleinzahler

2006

Canada:

International:

Judges:

Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to Robin Blaser

Guest speaker at awards ceremony: Simon Armitage

2007

Canada:

International:

Judges:

Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to Tomas Tranströmer

Guest speaker at awards ceremony: Matthew Rohrer

2008

Canada:

International:

Judges:

Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to Ko Un[12]

Guest speaker at awards ceremony: Paul Farley

2009

Canada:

International:

Judges:

Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to Hans Magnus Enzensberger

Guest speaker at awards ceremony: James Wood

2010

Canada:

International:

Judges:

Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to Adrienne Rich

Guest speaker at awards ceremony: Glyn Maxwell

2011

Canada:

International:

Judges:

Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to Yves Bonnefoy

Guest performer at awards ceremony: Jonathan Welstead, Poetry In Voice recitation champion

2012

Canada:

International:

Judges:

Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to Seamus Heaney

Guest performer at awards ceremony: Alexander Gagliano, Poetry In Voice recitation champion

2013

Canada:

International:

Judges:

Guest performer at awards ceremony: Kyla Kane, Poetry In Voice recitation champion

Guest speaker at awards ceremony: Pura López Colomé

2014

Canada:

International:

Judges:

Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to Adelia Prado

Guest performer at awards ceremony: Khalil Mair, Poetry In Voice recitation champion

Guest speaker at awards ceremony: August Kleinzahler

2015

Canada:

International:

Judges:

Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to Derek Walcott

Guest performer at awards ceremony: Ayo Akinfenwa, Poetry In Voice recitation champion

2016

Canada:

International:

Judges:

Winners to be announced: June 2, 2016

See also

References

  1. ↑ Griffin Poetry Prize Rules (Section 1)
  2. ↑ The Griffin Poetry Prize Announces Prize Award Increase from $100,000 to $200,000 and the 2010 International and Canadian Shortlist (April 6, 2010) - press release
  3. ↑ P.K. Page, Karen Solie, and Kate Hall vie for a more lucrative Griffin (April 6, 2010) - Quill and Quire
  4. ↑ The Griffin Poetry Prize Announces Prize Award Increase from $100,000 to $200,000 and the 2010 International and Canadian Shortlist (April 6, 2010) - press release
  5. ↑ New poetry award among literature’s most lucrative - Griffin Poetry Prize "makes a statement" by eclipsing Giller, G-G’s awards (September 9, 2000) - Ottawa Citizen
  6. ↑ Bilingual Poetry Recitation Contest Announced (November 23, 2010) - press release
  7. ↑ Poetry gets cool for school: Scott Griffin launches Poetry in Voice (November 23, 2010) - National Post
  8. ↑ Anne Carson wins poetry prize (June 8, 2001) - CBC News
  9. ↑ Heather McHugh - Poetry International Rotterdam profile
  10. ↑ Christian Bok - Canadian Writers in Person profile (York University)
  11. ↑ Another prize for B.C. poet Robin Blaser, and some advice (June 6, 2008) - Vancouver Sun
  12. ↑ Robin Blaser and Ko Un Win Griffin Poetry Prizes! (June 5, 2008) - University of California Press blog

External links

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