Synopses & Reviews
The highly anticipated annual anthology of the best Canadian and international poetry.
Each year, the best books of poetry published in English internationally and in Canada are honoured with the Griffin Poetry Prize, one of the worlds most prestigious and richest literary awards. Since 2001 this annual prize has acted as a tremendous spur to interest in and recognition of poetry, focusing worldwide attention on the formidable talent of poets writing in English. And each year The Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology features the work of the extraordinary poets shortlisted for the awards, and introduces us to some of the finest poems in their collections.
This year, editor and prize juror Suzanne Buffams selections from the international shortlist include poems from Jennifer Maidens Liquid Nitrogen (Giramondo Publishing), Alan Shapiros Night of the Republic (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), Brenda Shaughnessys Our Andromeda (Copper Canyon Press), and Ghassan Zaqtans Like a Straw Bird it Follows Me, and Other Poems (Yale University Press), translated by Fady Joudah. The selections from the Canadian shortlist include poems from David W. McFaddens Whats the Score (Mansfield Press), Sailing to Babylon by James Pollock (Able Muse Press), and Personals by Ian Williams (Freehand Books).
In choosing the 2013 shortlist, prize jurors Suzanne Buffam, Mark Doty, and Wang Ping considered more than 500 collections published in the previous year. The jury also wrote the citations that introduce the seven poets nominated works.
Royalties generated from The 2013 Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology will be donated to UNESCOs World Poetry Day, which was created to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression and to offer endangered languages the opportunity to be heard in their communities.
Shortlist to be announced: Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Readings: Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Prizes awarded: Thursday, June 13, 2013
Synopsis
The highly anticipated annual anthology of the best Canadian and international poetry.
Each year, the best books of poetry published in English internationally and in Canada are honoured with the Griffin Poetry Prize, one of the worlds most prestigious and richest literary awards. Since 2001 this annual prize has acted as a tremendous spur to interest in and recognition of poetry, focusing worldwide attention on the formidable talent of poets writing in English. And each year the editor of The Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology gathers the work of the extraordinary poets shortlisted for the awards and introduces us to some of the finest poems in their collections.
Royalties generated from The 2013 Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology will be donated to UNESCOs World Poetry Day, which was created to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression and to offer endangered languages the opportunity to be heard in their communities.
About the Author
Suzanne Buffams first collection of poetry, Past Imperfect, won the Gerald Lampert Award. Her second collection of poetry, The Irrationalist, was named a finalist for the 2011 Griffin Poetry Prize. Her work has been translated into French, German, Spanish, and Slovenian. She teaches Creative Writing at the University of Chicago.
Mark Doty is the author of eight books of poems, including Fire to Fire, which won the National Book Award for Poetry, and five volumes of nonfiction prose. He has been awarded the T. S. Eliot Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He teaches at Rutgers University.
Wang Ping was born in Shanghai. She left China in 1985 to study in the U.S., earning her Ph.D. from New York University. Her publications include the poetry collections Of Flesh and Spirit and The Magic Whip. She lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, and teaches at Macalester College.