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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; 24 years ago (2001)
Website	www.griffinpoetryprize.com

The Griffin Poetry Prize is Canada's poetry award. It was founded in 2000 by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin.

Before 2022, two separate awards went to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language. 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.

Concurrently with the merger, the Griffin Poetry Prize also introduced a juried Canadian First Book Prize to honor the year's best debut book by a Canadian poet.

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 board of trustees Margaret Atwood, Robert Hass, Michael Ondaatje, Robin Robertson, and David Young. In June 2004, Carolyn Forché joined the board. New trustees have been named over the years: in 2014, Karen Solie, Colm Tóibín, and Mark Doty; in 2016, Jo Shapcott and Marek Kazmierski; in 2018, Ian Williams; and in 2020, Sarah Howe. Margaret Atwood, Robert Hass, Michael Ondaatje, Robin Robertson, Jo Shapcott and Colm Tóibín 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. Eligible collections of poetry must have been published between January 1 and December 31 of the prior year. Submissions must come from publishers only. 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 was to go to a living Canadian poet, the other to a living poet from any country, which could include Canada as well.

Among the trustees’ responsibilities is to select each year’s judges, who select a shortlist announced in April, National Poetry Month. The shortlisted poets then gather for an evening of public readings in May or June; the following evening, the winners are announced and all the poets feted.

In 2010, the total amount of the annual prizes was doubled from CAD$100,000 to CAD$200,000 in recognition of the prize’s tenth anniversary. The increased amount of CAD$200,000 was awarded as follows: CAD$10,000 to each of seven shortlisted poets—four international and three Canadian—for their participation in the shortlist readings. The two winners, announced the next evening at the Griffin Poetry Prize Awards, were given CAD$65,000 each, for a total of CAD$75,000 that included the CAD$10,000 awarded the previous evening.

Selections from the shortlisted works are gathered annually 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 editions.

The Griffin Trust has championed other initiatives. In November 2010, Scott Griffin announced Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie, a bilingual recitation contest for high school students across Canada. Other projects have included funding a statue in tribute to poet Al Purdy, participation in international poetry festivals, and donations of poetry books to organizations such as the Correctional Service of Canada, the Scottish Poetry Library, a rebuilt Slave Lake Public Library (which was destroyed in a wildfire in 2011), and other libraries, schools, and colleges.

In 2022, Griffin Poetry Prize officials announced that the Canadian and international awards would be consolidated into a single award of CAD$130,000. Founder Scott Griffin said he originally believed that Canadian poets needed a separate category, but "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". The trust also announced a new prize: CAD$10,000 for a debut work of Canadian poetry. Critics from within Canadian poetry expressed concern about loss of opportunities "given the role the award played in securing grants and jobs". For instance, Alicia Elliot criticized the timing of the change, considering it happened "in the midst of a rather remarkable run for Black poets, Indigenous poets and poets of colour nominated for the Canadian portion" of the prize, and suggested the change implied that Canadian literature "is only relevant and worthwhile if it is being praised internationally."

In April 2023, Scott Griffin gave an endowment to the Writers' Trust of Canada to expand the prize package for what is now the Latner Griffin Writers' Trust Poetry Prize.

Honorees and judges

2000s

2010s

2020s

Prior to 2023, the Griffin Poetry Prize was separated into two categories with prizes specifically for Canadian poets and another for international poets with each winner receiving $65,000. However, in 2023, the Canadian-specific prize was eliminated with only one winner selected each year who wins $130,000.

2020-2022

2023-present

Canadian First Book Prize

Griffin Poetry Prize

See also

• Canadian poetry
• List of poetry awards
• List of years in poetry
• List of years in literature

Notes

1. The 2001 judges were Carolyn Forché, Dennis Lee, and Paul Muldoon. The guest performer at the awards ceremony was Gord Downie.
2. The 2002 judges were Dionne Brand, Robert Creeley, and Michael Hofmann. The guest host at the awards ceremony was Albert Schultz.
3. The 2003 judges were Michael Longley, Sharon Olds, and Sharon Thesen. The guest speaker at awards ceremony was Heather McHugh.
4. The 2004 judges were Billy Collins, Bill Manhire, and Phyllis Webb.
5. The 2005 judges were Simon Armitage, Erín Moure, and Tomaž Šalamun. The guest speaker at awards ceremony was August Kleinzahler.
6. The 2006 judges were Lavinia Greenlaw, Lisa Robertson, and Eliot Weinberger. The guest speaker at awards ceremony was Simon Armitage.
7. The 2007 judges were John Burnside, Charles Simic, and Karen Solie. The guest speaker at awards ceremony was Matthew Rohrer.
8. The 2008 judges were George Bowering, James Lasdun, and Pura López Colomé. The guest speaker at awards ceremony was Paul Farley.
9. The 2009 judges were Saskia Hamilton, Dennis O'Driscoll, and Michael Redhill. The guest speaker at awards ceremony was James Wood.
10. The 2010 judges were Anne Carson, Kathleen Jamie, and Carl Phillips. The guest speaker at the awards ceremony was Glyn Maxwell.
11. The 2011 judges were Tim Lilburn, Colm Tóibín, and Chase Twichell. The guest performer at the awards ceremony was Jonathan Welstead, National Poetry In Voice recitation champion.
12. The 2012 judges were Heather McHugh, David O'Meara, and Fiona Sampson. The guest performer at the awards ceremony was Alexander Gagliano, National Poetry In Voice recitation champion.
13. The 2013 judges were Suzanne Buffam, Mark Doty, and Wang Ping. The guest performer at the awards ceremony was Kyla Kane, National Poetry In Voice recitation champion, and the guest speaker at the awards ceremony was Pura López Colomé.
14. The 2014 judges were Robert Bringhurst, Jo Shapcott, and C.D. Wright. The guest performer at the awards ceremony was Khalil Mair, National Poetry In Voice recitation champion, and the guest speaker at the awards ceremony was August Kleinzahler.
15. The 2015 judges were Tim Bowling, Fanny Howe, and Piotr Sommer. The guest performer at the awards ceremony was Ayo Akinfenwa, National Poetry In Voice recitation champion.
16. The 2016 judges were Alice Oswald, Tracy K. Smith, and Adam Sol. The guest performer at the awards ceremony was Marie Foolchand, National Poetry In Voice recitation champion.
17. The 2017 judges were Susan Goyette, Joan Naviyuk Kane, and George Szirtes. The guest performer at the awards ceremony was David White, National Poetry In Voice recitation finalist.
18. The 2018 judges were Sarah Howe, Ben Lerner, and Ian Williams. The guest performer at the awards ceremony was Hamish Marissen-Clark, National Poetry In Voice recitation champion, and the guest speaker at awards ceremony was August Kleinzahler, 2004 Griffin Poetry Prize winner.
19. The 2019 judges were Ulrikka S. Gernes, Kim Maltman, and Srikanth Reddy. The guest performer at the awards ceremony was Catricia Hiebert, National Poetry In Voice recitation champion.
20. The 2020 judges were Paula Meehan, Kei Miller, and Hoa Nguyen.
21. The 2021 judges were Ilya Kaminsky, Ales Steger, and Souvankham Thammavongsa.
22. The 2022 judges were Adam Dickinson, Valzhyna Mort, and Claudia Rankine.

References

1. "Griffin Poetry Prize – Rules", Griffin Poetry Prize, archived from the original on 2019-02-09, retrieved 2013-09-30
2. ^ "Griffin Poetry Prize merges, and expands, annual awards". AP News. September 8, 2022. Archived from the original on September 8, 2022. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
3. ^ Cassandra Drudi, "Emily Riddle wins inaugural $10K Griffin Canadian First Book Prize" Archived 2023-05-20 at the Wayback Machine. Quill & Quire, May 17, 2023.
4. "Griffin Poetry Prize: 2000–2004 Coverage". Griffin Poetry Prize. Archived from the original on 2019-07-24. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
5. ^ "The Griffin Poetry Prize Announces Prize Award Increase from $100,000 to $200,000 and the 2010 International and Canadian Shortlist". The Griffin Trust. griffinpoetryprize.com. April 6, 2010. Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
6. "P. K. Page, Karen Solie, and Kate Hall vie for a more lucrative Griffin (April 6, 2010) – Quill and Quire". Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
7. "griffin anthology". House of Anansi Press. Archived from the original on 2019-10-20. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
8. "Poetry You Can Touch". House of Anansi Press. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
9. "Bilingual Poetry Recitation Contest Announced | Poetry In Voice". Poetry in Voice. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
10. "National Post". nationalpost. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
11. Literary luminaries attend unveiling of statue of 'people's poet' Al Purdy (May 21, 2008) Archived February 11, 2017, at the Wayback Machine – The Canadian Press
12. "Griffin Poetry Prize: Initiatives". Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
13. "Announcing the World's Largest International Prize for a Single Book of Poetry". Griffin Poetry Prize. Archived from the original on September 8, 2022. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
14. Perry, Amanda (6 January 2023). "The Griffin Poetry Prize Shakeup: New Rules, New Controversy". The Walrus. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
15. Elliott, Alicia (20 September 2022). "Why the Griffin Poetry Prize combining its awards is bad news for Canadian poets". CBC Arts. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
16. Nicole Thompson, "Writers’ Trust Poetry Prize more than doubles to $60K with Scott Griffin contribution" Archived 2023-04-05 at the Wayback Machine. Toronto Star, 5 April 2023.
17. "Anne Carson wins poetry prize". CBC News. 2001-06-08. Archived from the original on 2023-04-07. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
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20. "Another prize for B.C. poet Robin Blaser, and some advice" Archived 2014-03-14 at the Wayback Machine,Vancouver Sun, 6 June 2008.
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43. "2019 – Nicole Brossard". Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
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52. "Douglas Kearney Awarded Griffin International Poetry Prize". University of Minnesota. 2022-06-17. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
53. Cassandra Drudi, "Newfoundland poet Maggie Burton wins 2024 Griffin Canadian First Book Prize". Quill & Quire, May 29, 2024.
54. Nicole Thompson, "American poet Roger Reeves wins Griffin Poetry Prize for ‘Best Barbarian’". Toronto Star, June 7, 2023.
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56. Cassandra Drudi, "George McWhirter wins Griffin Poetry Prize for Homero Aridjis translation". Quill & Quire, June 6, 2024.
57. "Vancouver poet and translator George McWhirter makes shortlist for $130K Griffin Poetry Prize". CBC Books, April 17, 2024.

External links

• Official website
• Griffin Poetry Prize on YouTube
• Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie website
• Poets 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