The Griffin Poetry Prize is

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

's most generous poetry award. It was founded in 2000 by businessman and philanthropist

Scott Griffin Scott Griffin, (born 1938) is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist best known for founding the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2000, one of the world's most generous poetry awards, and Poetry In Voice, a bilingual recitation competition for Canadia ...

. Before 2022, the awards went to one Canadian and one international

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

who writes in the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

. In 2022, the two awards were consolidated into a single international prize of CAD$130,000. Shortlisted poets are awarded CAD$10,000, and a Lifetime Recognition Award comes with an award of CAD$25,000.

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 Robert L. Hass (born March 1, 1941) is an American poet. He served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1995 to 1997. He won the 2007 National Book Award and shared the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for the collection ''Time and Materials: Poems 1997 ...

Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, essayist, novelist, editor, and filmmaker. He is the recipient of multiple literary awards such as the Governor General's Award, the Giller P ...

Robin Robertson Robin Robertson (born in 1955) is a Scottish poet. Biography Robertson was brought up on the north-east coast of Scotland, but has spent most of his professional life in London. After working as an editor at Penguin Books and Secker and Warb ...

and David Young. In June 2004,

Carolyn Forché Carolyn Forché (born April 28, 1950) is an American poet, editor, professor, translator, and human rights advocate. She has received many awards for her literary work. Biography Forché was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Michael Joseph and Louis ...

joined the board of Trustees. New trustees have been named as follows: in 2014,

Karen Solie Karen Solie (born 1966) is a Canadian poet. Born in Moose Jaw, Solie grew up on the family farm in southwest Saskatchewan. Over the years, she has worked as a farm hand, an espresso jerk, a groundskeeper, a newspaper reporter/photographer, an acad ...

Colm Tóibín Colm Tóibín (, approximately ; born 30 May 1955) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, critic, playwright and poet. His first novel, '' The South'', was published in 1990. '' The Blackwater Lightship'' was shortlis ...

and

Mark Doty Mark Doty (born August 10, 1953) is an American poet and memoirist best known for his work ''My Alexandria.'' He was the winner of the National Book Award for Poetry in 2008. Early life Mark Doty was born in Maryville, Tennessee to Lawrence an ...

, in 2016,

Jo Shapcott Jo Shapcott FRSL (born 24 March 1953, London) is an English poet, editor and lecturer who has won the National Poetry Competition, the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, the Costa Book of the Year Award, a Forward Poetry Prize and the Cholmondeley Awa ...

and Marek Kazmierski, in 2018, Ian Williams and in 2020,

Sarah Howe Sarah Howe (born 1983) is a Chinese–British poet, editor and researcher in English literature. Her first full poetry collection, '' Loop of Jade'', won the T. S. Eliot Prize and the ''Sunday Times'' / Peters Fraser & Dunlop Young Writer of ...

. Margaret Atwood,

and

have assumed the role of Trustees Emeriti. 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. 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 National Poetry Month, a celebration of poetry which takes place each April, was introduced in 1996 and is organized by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States. The Academy of Amer ...

) every year. The shortlisted poets gather for an evening of public readings every May/June, and the winners are announced and all the poets are feted the following evening. Each year, selections from the shortlisted works are gathered in ''The Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology'', typically edited by one of that year's judges. In 2019, House of Anansi Press partnered with the National Network for Equitable Library Services (NNELS) to offer the anthology in print and digital

Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...

editions. Eligible collections of poetry must have been published between January 1 and December 31 of the prior year. Submissions must come from publishers only. 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. 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. 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. The Griffin Trust has championed other initiatives since its inception, including a statue in tribute to poet

Al Purdy Alfred Wellington Purdy (December 30, 1918 – April 21, 2000) was a 20th-century Canadian free verse poet. Purdy's writing career spanned fifty-six years. His works include thirty-nine books of poetry; a novel; two volumes of memoirs and four b ...

, participation in international poetry festivals, and donations of poetry books to various organizations, including the

Correctional Service of Canada The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC; french: Service correctionnel du Canada), also known as Correctional Service Canada or Corrections Canada, is the Canadian federal government agency responsible for the incarceration and rehabilitation of ...

Scottish Poetry Library The Scottish Poetry Library is a public library specialising in Scottish poetry. Since 1999, the library has been based at 5 Crichton's Close, just off the Canongate in Edinburgh's Old Town. History and status The library was founded in 1984 ...

, Slave Lake Public Library (which was destroyed in a

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

in 2011) and other libraries, schools and colleges. Griffin Poetry Prize officials announced in 2022 that the Canadian and international awards would be consolidated into a single award of CAD$130,000. Founder Scott Griffin, who originally believed that Canadian poets needed a separate category, said that "now that a lot of Canadians have been recognized in the poetry world, we felt it was time they had to compete on the international stage with everybody else". An award of CAD$10,000 for a debut work of Canadian poetry was also announced.

Finalists, judges and Lifetime Recognition recipients

Winners are listed first and highlighted with bold.

2001

Canada: *

Anne Carson Anne Carson (born June 21, 1950) is a Canadian poet, essayist, translator, classicist, and professor. Trained at the University of Toronto, Carson has taught classics, comparative literature, and creative writing at universities across the Unit ...

, ''

Men in the Off Hours ''Men in the Off Hours'' (2000) is a book of poems and prose pieces by Anne Carson. It won her the inaugural Griffin Poetry Prize in 2001. Summary ''Men in the Off Hours'' is a hybrid collection of short poems, verse essays, epitaphs, commemora ...

'' *

Robert Bringhurst Robert Bringhurst Appointments to the Order of Canada (2013). (born 16 October 1946) is a Canadian poet, typographer and author. He has translated substantial works from Haida and Navajo and from classical Greek and Arabic. He wrote ''The Eleme ...

, ''Nine Visits to the Mythworld'' * Don McKay, ''Another Gravity'' International: * Nikolai Popov and

Heather McHugh Heather McHugh (born August 20, 1948) is an American poet notable for the independent ranges of her aesthetic as a poet, and for her working devotion to teaching and translating literature. Life Heather McHugh, a poet, translator, educator and ...

, translation of ''Glottal Stop: 101 Poems'' from the German written by Paul Celan *

Chana Bloch Chana Bloch (March 15, 1940 – May 19, 2017) was an American poet, translator, and scholar. She was a professor emerita of English at Mills College in Oakland, California. Life and work Born as Florence Ina Faerstein in the Bronx, New York, s ...

and

Chana Kronfeld Chana, chhana, or chaná may refer to : Food * Chickpea, known in South Asia as ''chana'' * Chhana, a type of curds from South Asia Places * Chana, Illinois, United States, an unincorporated community * Chana District, Songkhla Province, ...

, translation of ''Open Closed Open'' from the Hebrew written by

Yehuda Amichai Yehuda Amichai ( he, יהודה עמיחי; born Ludwig Pfeuffer 3 May 1924 – 22 September 2000) was an Israeli poet and author, one of the first to write in colloquial Hebrew in modern times. Amichai was awarded the 1957 Shlonsky Prize, the ...

Fanny Howe Fanny Howe (born October 15, 1940 in Buffalo, New York) is an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Howe has written more than 20 books of poetry and prose. Her major works include poetry such as ''One Crossed Out'', ''Gone'', and ''S ...

, ''Selected Poems'' * Les Murray, ''Learning Human'' Judges: *

* Dennis Lee *

Paul Muldoon Paul Muldoon (born 20 June 1951) is an Irish poet. He has published more than thirty collections and won a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the T. S. Eliot Prize. At Princeton University he is currently both the Howard G. B. Clark '21 University P ...

Guest performer at awards ceremony:

Gord Downie Gordon Edgar Downie (February 6, 1964 – October 17, 2017) was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer and activist. He was the singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, which he fronted from its form ...

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

Canada: *

Christian Bök Christian Bök, FRSC (; born August 10, 1966 in Toronto, Canada) is a Canadian poet known for unusual and experimental works. He is the author of '' Eunoia'', which won the Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize. Life and work He was born "Christian Bo ...

, ''

Eunoia In rhetoric, ''eunoia'' ( grc, εὔνοιᾰ, eúnoia, well mind; beautiful thinking) is the good will speakers cultivate between themselves and their audiences, a condition of receptivity. In Book VIII of the '' Nicomachean Ethics'', Aristot ...

'' *

Erín Moure Erín Moure (born 1955 in Calgary, Alberta) Erín Moure is a Canadian poet and translator with 18 books of poetry, a coauthored book of poetry, a volume of essays, a book of articles on translation, a poetics, and two memoirs; she has translated ...

, ''Sheep's Vigil by a Fervent Person'' *

, ''Short Haul Engine'' International: *

Alice Notley Alice Notley (born November 8, 1945) is an American poet. Notley came to prominence as a member of the second generation of the New York School of poetry—although she has always denied being involved with the New York School or any specific mo ...

, ''Disobedience'' *

Victor Hernández Cruz Victor Hernández Cruz (born February 6, 1949) is a Puerto Rican poet. In 1981, ''Life'' magazine named him one of America's greatest poets.Nicolas Kanellos, "Hispanic Firsts", Visible Ink Press; ; p. 40. Biography Early years Hernández Cruz w ...

, ''Maraca'' *

Christopher Logue Christopher Logue, CBE (23 November 1926 – 2 December 2011)Mark EspineObituary: Christopher Logue ''The Guardian'', 2 December 2011 was an English poet associated with the British Poetry Revival, and a pacifist. Life Born in Portsmouth, ...

, ''Homer: War Music'' * Les Murray, ''Conscious and Verbal'' Judges: *

Dionne Brand Dionne Brand (born 7 January 1953) is a Canadian poet, novelist, essayist and documentarian. She was Toronto's third Poet Laureate from September 2009 to November 2012. She was admitted to the Order of Canada in 2017

Robert Creeley Robert White Creeley (May 21, 1926 – March 30, 2005) was an American poet and author of more than sixty books. He is usually associated with the Black Mountain poets, though his verse aesthetic diverged from that school. He was close with Char ...

Michael Hofmann Michael Hofmann (born 25 August 1957) is a German-born poet who writes in English and is a translator of texts from German. Biography Hofmann was born in Freiburg into a family with a literary tradition. His father was the German novelist Ger ...

Guest host at awards ceremony:

Albert Schultz Albert Hamilton Schultz (; born July 30, 1963) is a former Canadian actor, director and the founding artistic director of Toronto's Soulpepper Theatre Company. He resigned his position with Soulpepper after sexual allegations against Schultz bec ...

2003

Canada: *

Margaret Avison Margaret Avison, (April 23, 1918 – July 31, 2007) was a Canadian poet who twice won Canada's Governor General's Award and has also won its Griffin Poetry Prize.Michael Gnarowski,Avison, Margaret" ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (Edmonton: Hurtig ...

, ''Concrete and Wild Carrot'' *

, ''thirsty'' *

P. K. Page Patricia Kathleen Page, (23 November 1916 – 14 January 2010) was a British-born Canadian poet,Peter ScowenP.K. Page dies at age 93 ''The Globe and Mail'', 14 January 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2010. though the citation as she was inducted as a ...

, ''Planet Earth: Poems Selected and New'' International: *

, ''Moy Sand and Gravel'' *

Kathleen Jamie Kathleen Jamie FRSL (born 13 May 1962) is a Scottish poet and essayist. In 2021 she became Scotland's fourth Makar. Life and work Kathleen Jamie is a poet and essayist. Raised in Currie, near Edinburgh, she studied philosophy at the University ...

, ''Mr And Mrs Scotland are Dead: Poems 1980–1994'' *

Gerald Stern Gerald Daniel Stern (February 22, 1925 – October 27, 2022) was an American poet, essayist, and educator. The author of twenty collections of poetry and four books of essays, he taught literature and creative writing at Temple University, Indi ...

, ''American Sonnets: poems'' * C. D. Wright, ''Steal Away: selected and new poems'' Judges: *

Michael Longley Michael Longley, (born 27 July 1939, Belfast, Northern Ireland), is an Anglo-Irish poet. Life and career One of twin boys, Michael Longley was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to English parents, Longley was educated at the Royal Belfast A ...

Sharon Olds Sharon Olds (born November 12, 1942) is an American poet. Olds won the first San Francisco Poetry Center Award in 1980, the 1984 National Book Critics Circle Award, and the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry.

Sharon Thesen Sharon Thesen (born 1946 in Tisdale, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian poet who lives in Lake Country, British Columbia. She teaches at University of British Columbia Okanagan. In 2003, Thesen was a judge for the Griffin Poetry Prize. Selected works ...

Guest speaker at awards ceremony:

2004

Canada: *

Anne Simpson Anne Simpson is a Canadian poet, novelist, artist and essayist. She was a recipient of the Griffin Poetry Prize. Biography Simpson received her B.A. and M.A. degrees from Queen's University, and graduated in Fine Arts from OCAD University (form ...

, ''Loop'' *

Di Brandt Di Brandt (born 31 January 1952) (née Janzen) often stylized as di brandt, is a Canadian poet and scholar from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She became Winnipeg's first Poet Laureate in 2018. Life and career Brandt grew up in Reinland, a Mennonite farmin ...

, ''Now You Care'' * Leslie Greentree, ''go-go dancing for Elvis'' International: *

August Kleinzahler August Kleinzahler (born December 10, 1949) is an American poet. Life and career Until he was 11, he went to school in Fort Lee, New Jersey, where he grew up. He then commuted to the Horace Mann School in the Bronx, graduating in 1967. He wrote p ...

, ''The Strange Hours Travelers Keep'' * Suji Kwock Kim, ''Notes From the Divided Country'' * David Kirby, ''The Ha-Ha'' *

Louis Simpson Louis Aston Marantz Simpson (March 27, 1923 – September 14, 2012) was an American poet born in Jamaica. He won the 1964 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his work ''At the End of the Open Road''. Life and career Simpson was born in Jamaica, the so ...

, ''The Owner of the House'' Judges: *

Billy Collins William James Collins (born March 22, 1941) is an American poet, appointed as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. He is a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York (retired, 2016). Collins ...

Bill Manhire William Manhire (born 27 December 1946) is a New Zealand poet, short story writer, emeritus professor, and New Zealand's inaugural Poet Laureate (1997–1998). He founded New Zealand's first creative writing course at Victoria University of Well ...

Phyllis Webb Phyllis Webb (April 8, 1927 – November 11, 2021) was a Canadian poet and broadcaster. Webb's poetry had diverse influences, ranging from neo-Confucianism to the field theory of composition developed by the Black Mountain poets. Critics have ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Canada: *

Roo Borson Ruth Elizabeth Borson, who writes under the name Roo Borson (born January 20, 1952 in Berkeley, California) is a Canadian poet who lives in Toronto. After undergraduate studies at UC Santa Barbara and Goddard College, she received an MFA from th ...

, ''Short Journey Upriver Toward Oishida'' *

George Bowering George Harry Bowering, (born December 1, 1935) is a prolific Canadian novelist, poet, historian, and biographer. He was the first Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate. He was born in Penticton, British Columbia, and raised in the nearby town o ...

, ''Changing on the Fly'' * Don McKay, ''Camber'' International: *

Charles Simic Dušan Simić ( sr-cyr, Душан Симић, ; born May 9, 1938), known as Charles Simic, is a Serbian American poet and former co-poetry editor of the ''Paris Review''. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1990 for ''The World Doesn't ...

, ''Selected Poems: 1963–2003'' *

, ''On the Ground'' *

Michael Symmons Roberts Michael Symmons Roberts FRSL (born 1963 in Preston, Lancashire) is a British poet. He has published eight collections of poetry, all with Cape (Random House), and has won the Forward Prize, the Costa Book Award and the Whitbread Prize for Poetr ...

, ''Corpus'' *

Matthew Rohrer Matthew Rohrer (born 1970) is an American poet. Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Rohrer was raised in Oklahoma. He earned a BA from the University of Michigan (where he won a Hopwood Award for poetry) and a Master of Fine Arts degree in poetry f ...

, ''A Green Light'' Judges: *

Simon Armitage Simon Robert Armitage (born 26 May 1963) is an English poet, playwright, musician and novelist. He was appointed Poet Laureate on 10 May 2019. He is professor of poetry at the University of Leeds. He has published over 20 collections of poetr ...

Tomaž Šalamun Tomaž Šalamun (July 4, 1941 – December 27, 2014) was a Slovenian poet who was a leading figure of postwar neo-avant-garde poetry in Central EuropeColm Tóibín (2004The comet's trail Guardian and an internationally acclaimed absurdist. Martín ...

Guest speaker at awards ceremony:

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

Canada: *

Sylvia Legris Sylvia Legris (born 1960) is a Canadian poet. Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, she now lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She has published four volumes of poetry, the third of which, ''Nerve Squall'', won the 2006 Griffin Poetry Prize and Pat L ...

, ''Nerve Squall'' * Phil Hall, ''An Oak Hunch'' *

, ''Little theatres'' International: * Kamau Brathwaite, ''Born to Slow Horses'' *

, translation of ''Ashes for Breakfast: Selected Poems'' from the German written by

Durs Grünbein Durs Grünbein (born 1962) is a German poet and essayist. Life and career Durs Grünbein was born and grew up in Dresden. He studied Theater Studies in East Berlin, to which he moved in 1985. Since the Peaceful Revolution nonviolently toppled ...

* Michael Palmer, ''Company of Moths'' * Elizabeth Winslow, translation of ''The War Works Hard'' by Dunya Mikhail Judges: * Lavinia Greenlaw *

Lisa Robertson Lisa Robertson (born July 22, 1961) is a Canadian poet, essayist and translator. She lives in France. Life and work Born in Toronto, Ontario, Robertson moved to British Columbia in 1979, first living on Saltspring Island, then in Vancouver, wh ...

Eliot Weinberger Eliot Weinberger (born 6 February 1949 in New York City) is a contemporary American literature, American writer, essayist, editing, editor, and translation, translator. He is primarily known for his literary writings (essays) and political articles ...

Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to

Robin Blaser Robin Francis Blaser (May 18, 1925 – May 7, 2009) was an author and poet in both the United States and Canada. Personal background Born in Denver, Colorado, Blaser grew up in Idaho, and came to Berkeley, California, in 1944. There he met Jack ...

Guest speaker at awards ceremony:

2007

Canada: * Don McKay, ''Strike/Slip'' * Ken Babstock, ''Airstream Land Yacht'' *

Priscila Uppal Priscila Uppal (October 30, 1974 – September 5, 2018) was a Canadian poet, novelist, fiction writer, and playwright. Personal life and career Uppal was born in Ottawa, Ontario, she graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1993. She earned he ...

, ''Ontological Necessities'' International: * Charles Wright, ''Scar Tissue'' *

Paul Farley Paul Farley, FRSL (born 1965) is a British poet, writer and broadcaster. Life and work Farley was born in Liverpool. He studied painting at the Chelsea School of Art, and has lived in London, Brighton and Cumbria. His first collection of poe ...

, ''Tramp in Flames'' * Rodney Jones, ''Salvation Blues'' *

Frederick Seidel Frederick Seidel (born February 19, 1936) is an American poet. Biography Seidel was born to a family of Russian Jewish descent in St. Louis, Missouri in 1936. His family owned Seidel Coal and Coke, which supplied coal to the brewing industry in St ...

, ''Ooga-Booga'' Judges: *

John Burnside John Burnside FRSL FRSE (born 19 March 1955) is a Scottish writer. He is one of only three poets (the others being Ted Hughes and Sean O'Brien) to have won both the T. S. Eliot Prize and the Forward Poetry Prize for the same book (''Black C ...

Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to

Tomas Tranströmer Tomas Gösta Tranströmer (; 15 April 1931 – 26 March 2015) was a Swedish poet, psychologist and translator. His poems captured the long Swedish winters, the rhythm of the seasons and the palpable, atmospheric beauty of nature. Tranströmer's ...

Guest speaker at awards ceremony:

2008

Canada: *

, ''The Holy Forest: Collected Poems of Robin Blaser'' *

Robert Majzels Robert Majzels (born May 12, 1950) is a Canadian novelist, poet, playwright and translator. Life Majzels was born in Montreal, Quebec. In 1986, he graduated with a master's degree in English Literature from Concordia University in Montreal, w ...

and

, translation of ''Notebook of Roses and Civilization'' from the French written by

Nicole Brossard Nicole Brossard (born November 27, 1943) is a leading French-Canadian formalist poet and novelist. Her work is known for exploration of feminist themes and for challenging masculine-oriented language and points of view in French literature. Sh ...

* David McFadden, ''Why Are You So Sad? Selected Poems of David W. McFadden'' International: * John Ashbery, ''Notes from the Air: Selected Later Poems'' *

Elaine Equi Elaine Equi (born 1953) is an American poet. Equi was born in Oak Park, Illinois and grew up in the Chicago area. Since 1988 she has lived in New York City with her husband, poet Jerome Sala. She currently teaches creative writing in the Master ...

, ''Ripple Effect: New and Selected Poems'' *

Clayton Eshleman Clayton Eshleman (June 1, 1935 – January 29/30, 2021) was an American poet, translator, and editor, noted in particular for his translations of César Vallejo and his studies of cave painting and the Paleolithic imagination. Eshleman's work has ...

, translation of ''The Complete Poetry: A Bilingual Edition'' from the Spanish written by Cesar Vallejo *

David Harsent David Harsent (born in Devon) is an English poet who for some time earned his living as a TV scriptwriter and crime novelist. Background During his early career he was part of a circle of poets centred on Ian Hamilton and forming something of a ...

, ''Selected Poems 1969–2005'' Judges: *

* James Lasdun *

Pura López Colomé Pura López Colomé (born November 6, 1952) is a Mexican poet and translator. She has contributed to various magazines and cultural supplements with poetry, essays, and translations of poetry and prose from English into Spanish. Her awards include ...

Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to Ko Un Guest speaker at awards ceremony:

2009

Canada: *

A. F. Moritz Albert Frank Moritz (born April 15, 1947) is a United States-born Canadian poet, teacher, and scholar. Born in Niles, Ohio, Moritz was educated at Marquette University. Since 1975, he has made his home in Toronto, Ontario where he has worked vari ...

, ''The Sentinel'' * Kevin Connolly, ''Revolver'' *

Jeramy Dodds Jeramy Dodds (born 4 December 1974 in Ajax, Ontario) is a Canadian poet. Born in Ajax, Ontario, Dodds grew up in Orono, Ontario. He studied English literature and anthropology at Trent University, medieval Icelandic studies at The University o ...

, ''Crabwise to the Hounds'' International: * C.D. Wright, ''Rising, Falling, Hovering'' *

Mick Imlah Michael Ogilvie Imlah (26 September 1956 – 12 January 2009), better known as Mick Imlah, was a Scottish poet and editor. Background Imlah was brought up in Milngavie near Glasgow, before moving to Beckenham, Kent, in 1966. He was educated at Ma ...

, ''The Lost Leader'' *

Derek Mahon Derek Mahon (23 November 1941 – 1 October 2020) was an Irish poet. He was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland but lived in a number of cities around the world. At his death it was noted that his, "influence in the Irish poetry community, lit ...

, ''Life on Earth'' * Dean Young, ''Primitive Mentor'' Judges: *

Saskia Hamilton Saskia Hamilton (born 1967 Washington, D.C.) is an American poet. She graduated from Kenyon College with a B.A., from New York University with an M.A., and from Boston University with Ph.D. She worked for the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the L ...

Dennis O'Driscoll Dennis O'Driscoll (1 January 1954 – 24 December 2012) was an Irish poet, essayist, critic and editor. Regarded as one of the best European poets of his time, Eileen Battersby considered him "the lyric equivalent of William Trevor" and a ...

Michael Redhill Michael Redhill (born 12 June 1966) is an American-born Canadian poet, playwright and novelist.Hans Magnus Enzensberger Hans Magnus Enzensberger (11 November 1929 – 24 November 2022) was a German author, poet, translator, and editor. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Andreas Thalmayr, Elisabeth Ambras, Linda Quilt and Giorgio Pellizzi. Enzensberger was regarde ...

Guest speaker at awards ceremony: James Wood

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Canada: *

, ''Pigeon'' * Kate Hall, ''The Certainty Dream'' *

, ''Coal and Roses'' International: * Eilean Ni Chuilleanain, ''The Sun-fish'' *

John Glenday John Glenday grew up in Monifieth. Life John lives in Angus, with his wife Erika. His work appeared in ''Times Literary Supplement'', ''London Review of Books'', ''Poetry ''(Chicago), ''The Scotsman'', ''The Guardian'', ''Financial Times'', ' ...

, ''Grain'' *

Louise Gluck Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...

, ''A Village Life'' *

Susan Wicks Susan Wicks (born 1947 Kent, England) is a British poet and novelist. She studied at the University of Hull, University of Sussex. She taught at University College, Dublin, University of Dijon, and the University of Kent. She teaches at Goldsm ...

, translation of ''Cold Spring in Winter'' from the French written by

Valérie Rouzeau Valérie Rouzeau (born 22 August 1967, in Cosne-sur-Loire), is a French poet and translator. She is the eldest of a family of seven children. She holds a Master of literary translation. She received the Prix Guillaume Apollinaire for Poetry in 2 ...

Judges: *

Carl Phillips Carl Phillips (born 1959) is an American writer and poet. He is a Professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis. Early life Phillips was born in Everett, Washington. He was born a child of a military family, moving year-by-year unt ...

Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to

Adrienne Rich Adrienne Cecile Rich ( ; May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012) was an American poet, essayist and feminist. She was called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century", and was credited with bringing "th ...

Guest speaker at awards ceremony:

Glyn Maxwell Glyn Maxwell (born 1962) is a British poet, playwright, novelist, librettist, and lecturer. Early life Of primarily Welsh heritage — his mother Buddug-Mair Powell (b. 1928) acted in the original stage show of Dylan Thomas's ''Under Milk Wood'' ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Canada: *

, ''Ossuaries'' * Suzanne Buffam, ''The Irrationalist'' *

John Steffler John Steffler (born November 13, 1947) is a Canadian poet and novelist. He served as Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate from 2006 to 2008. Biography John Steffler was born in Toronto, Ontario, on November 13, 1947, and grew up in a rural area n ...

, ''Lookout'' International: *Gjertrud Schnackenberg, ''Heavenly Questions'' *Seamus Heaney, ''Human Chain'' *Khaled Mattawa, translation of ''Adonis: Selected Poems'' from the Arabic written by Adunis, Adonis *Philip Mosley, translation of ''The Book of the Snow'' from the French written by Francois Jacqmin Judges: *Tim Lilburn *

*Chase Twichell Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to Yves Bonnefoy Guest performer at awards ceremony: Jonathan Welstead, National Poetry In Voice recitation champion

2012 in poetry, 2012

Canada: * Ken Babstock, ''Methodist Hatchet'' * Phil Hall, ''Killdeer'' *Jan Zwicky, ''Forge'' International: *

, ''Night'' *Yusef Komunyakaa, ''The Chameleon Couch'' *Sean O'Brien (writer), Sean O'Brien, ''November'' *Joanna Trzeciak, translation from Polish of ''Sobbing Superpower: Selected Poems of Tadeusz Rózewicz'' Judges: *

*David O'Meara *Fiona Sampson Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to Seamus Heaney Guest performer at awards ceremony: Alexander Gagliano, National Poetry In Voice recitation champion

2013 in poetry, 2013

Canada: * David McFadden, ''What's the Score?'' *James Pollock (writer), James Pollock, ''Sailing to Babylon'' * Ian Williams, ''Personals'' International: *Fady Joudah, translation of ''The Straw Bird It Follows Me, and Other Poems'' from the Arabic written by Ghassan Zaqtan *Jennifer Maiden, ''Liquid Nitrogen'' *Alan Shapiro, ''Night of the Republic'' *Brenda Shaughnessy, ''Our Andromeda'' Judges: * Suzanne Buffam *

*Wang Ping (author), Wang Ping Guest performer at awards ceremony: Kyla Kane, National Poetry In Voice recitation champion Guest speaker at awards ceremony: Pura López Colomé

2014 in poetry, 2014

Canada: *

, Red Doc, ''Red Doc>'' *Susan Goyette, ''Ocean'' *Anne Michaels, ''Correspondences'' International: *Brenda Hillman, ''Seasonal Works with Letters on Fire'' *Rachael Boast, ''Pilgrim's Flower'' *

, ''Silverchest'' *Mira Rosenthal, translation of ''Colonies'' from the Polish written by Tomasz Rozycki Judges: *

* C.D. Wright Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to Adelia Prado Guest performer at awards ceremony: Khalil Mair, National Poetry In Voice recitation champion Guest speaker at awards ceremony:

2015 in poetry, 2015

Canada: *Jane Munro, ''Blue Sonoma'' *Shane Book, ''Congotronic'' *Russell Thornton (writer), Russell Thornton, ''The Hundred Lives'' International: *

, ''The Stairwell'' *Eleanor Goodman, translation of ''Something Crosses My Mind'' from the Chinese written by Wang Xiaoni * Marek Kazmierski, translation of ''Finite Formulae & Theories of Chance'' from the Polish written by Wioletta Grzegorzewska, Wioletta Greg *Spencer Reece, ''The Road to Emmaus'' Judges: *Tim Bowling *

*Piotr Sommer Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to Derek Walcott Guest performer at awards ceremony: Ayo Akinfenwa, National Poetry In Voice recitation champion

2016 in poetry, 2016

Canada: *Liz Howard (writer), Liz Howard, ''Infinite Citizen of the Shaking Tent'' *Per Brask and Patrick Friesen, translation of ''Frayed Opus for Strings & Wind Instruments'' from the Danish written by Ulrikka S. Gernes *Soraya Peerbaye, ''Tell: poems for a girlhood'' International: *Norman Dubie, ''The Quotations of Bone'' *Joy Harjo, ''Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings'' *Don Paterson, ''40 Sonnets'' *Rowan Ricardo Phillips, ''Heaven'' Judges: *Alice Oswald *Tracy K. Smith *Adam Sol Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to Adam Zagajewski. Guest performer at awards ceremony: Marie Foolchand, National Poetry In Voice recitation champion

2017 in poetry, 2017

Canada: *Jordan Abel, ''Injun'' *Hoa Nguyen, ''Violet Energy Ingots'' *Sandra Ridley, ''Silvija'' International: *Alice Oswald, ''Falling Awake (poetry collection), Falling Awake'' *Jane Mead, ''World of Made and Unmade'' *Donald Nicholson-Smith, translation of ''In Praise of Defeat'' from the French written by Abdellatif Laabi *Denise Riley, ''Say Something Back'' Judges: *Susan Goyette *Joan Kane, Joan Naviyuk Kane *George Szirtes Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to Frank Bidart. Guest performer at awards ceremony: David White, National Poetry In Voice recitation finalist

2018 in poetry, 2018

Canada: *Billy-Ray Belcourt, ''This Wound is a World'' *Aisha Sasha John, ''I have to live.'' *Donato Mancini, ''Same Diff'' International: *Susan Howe, ''Debths'' *Tongo Eisen-Martin, ''Heaven is All Goodbyes'' *Layli Long Soldier, ''Whereas'' *Natalie Shapero, ''Hard Child'' Judges: *

*Ben Lerner * Ian Williams Lifetime Recognition Award (announced by the Griffin trustees) to Ana Blandiana. Guest performer at awards ceremony: Hamish Marissen-Clark, National Poetry In Voice recitation champion Guest speaker at awards ceremony:

, 2004 Griffin Poetry Prize winner

2019 in poetry, 2019

Canada: *Eve Joseph, ''Quarrels'' *

, ''The Blue Clerk'' *Sarah Tolmie, ''The Art of Dying'' International: *Don Mee Choi, translation of ''Autobiography of Death'' from the Korean written by Kim Hyesoon *Raymond Antrobus, ''The Perseverance'' *Daniel Borzutzky, ''Lake Michigan'' *Ani Gjika, translation of ''Negative Space'' from the Albanian written by Luljeta Lleshanaku Judges: *Ulrikka S. Gernes *Kim Maltman *Srikanth Reddy Lifetime Recognition Award (announced by the Griffin trustees) to

. Guest performer at awards ceremony: Catricia Hiebert, National Poetry In Voice recitation champion

2020 in poetry, 2020

Canada: *Kaie Kellough, ''Magnetic Equator'' *Chantal Gibson, ''How She Read'' *Doyali Islam, ''heft'' International: *Sarah Riggs, translation of ''Time'' from the French written by Etel Adnan *Abigail Chabitnoy, ''How to Dress a Fish'' *

, ''Arias'' *Natalie Scenters-Zapico, ''Lima :: Limón'' Judges: *Paula Meehan *Kei Miller *Hoa Nguyen

2021 in poetry, 2021

Canada: *Canisia Lubrin, ''The Dyzgraphxst''Adina Bresge
"Canisia Lubrin named Canadian winner of $65K Griffin Poetry Prize"
CP24, June 23, 2021. *Joseph A. Dandurand, ''The East Side of It All'' *Yusuf Saadi, ''Pluviophile'' International: *Valzhyna Mort, ''Music for the Dead and Resurrected'' *Victoria Chang, ''Obit'' *Srikanth Reddy, ''Underworld Lit'' *Yi Lei (Tracy K. Smith and Changtai Bi, translators), ''My Name Will Grow Wide Like a Tree'' Judges: *Ilya Kaminsky *Ales Steger *Souvankham Thammavongsa

2022 in poetry, 2022

Canada: * Tolu Oloruntoba, ''The Junta of Happenstance''Adina Bresge
"B.C. writer Tolu Oloruntoba wins $65K Griffin Poetry Prize for debut book"
''Toronto Star'', June 15, 2022. *David Bradford (writer), David Bradford, ''Dream of No One But Myself'' *Liz Howard (writer), Liz Howard, ''Letters in a Bruised Cosmos'' International: * Douglas Kearney, ''Sho'' *Gemma Gorga, ''Late to the House of Words'' (tr. Sharon Dolin) *Natalka Bilotserkivets, ''Eccentric Days of Hope and Sorrow'' (tr. Ali Kinsella and Dzvinia Orlowsky) *Ed Roberson, ''Asked What Has Changed'' Judges: *Adam Dickinson *Valzhyna Mort *Claudia Rankine

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.griffinpoetryprize.com/, Griffin Poetry Prize official website
Griffin Poetry Prize on YouTubePoetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie websitePoets performing prose is the real prize
''Toronto Star''
Griffin Poetry Prize doubles award money
''The Globe and Mail''
Griffin Poetry Prize turns 10
''Toronto Star'' 2000 establishments in Canada Awards established in 2000 Canadian poetry awards

History

Finalists, judges and Lifetime Recognition recipients

2001

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2003

2004

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2007

2008

2009

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2012 in poetry, 2012

2013 in poetry, 2013

2014 in poetry, 2014

2015 in poetry, 2015

2016 in poetry, 2016

2017 in poetry, 2017

2018 in poetry, 2018

2019 in poetry, 2019

2020 in poetry, 2020

2021 in poetry, 2021

2022 in poetry, 2022

See also

References

External links