First awarded 2001 | ||
Awarded for Canadian and International awards for poetry written in or translated into English Official website | ||
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.
Contents
- History
- Finalists Judges and Lifetime Recognition Recipients
- 2001
- 2002
- 2003
- 2004
- 2005
- 2006
- 2007
- 2008
- 2009
- 2010
- 2011
- 2012
- 2013
- 2014
- 2015
- 2016
- 2017
- References
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.
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, Karen Solie, Colm Tóibín and Mark Doty were named Trustees, and in 2016, Jo Shapcott and Marek Kazmierski were named Trustees. Margaret Atwood, Robert Hass and Robin Robertson 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) 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.
The Griffin Trust has championed other initiatives since its inception, including a statue in tribute to poet Al Purdy, participation in international poetry festivals, and donations of poetry books to various organizations, including the Correctional Service of Canada, Scottish Poetry Library and other libraries, schools and colleges.
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
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:
Lifetime Recognition Award (presented by the Griffin trustees) to Adam Zagajewski.
Guest performer at awards ceremony: Marie Foolchand, Poetry In Voice recitation champion
2017
Judges:
Shortlist to be announced: April 11, 2017
Winners to be announced: June 8, 2017