Griffin Poetry Prize unveils 2013 short list
Seven poets in the running for lucrative international poetry honour
Canadian poets David W. McFadden, James Pollock and Ian Williams are competing for the lucrative Griffin Poetry Prize.
The prize — created by businessman Scott Griffin — awards $65,000 each year to an international poet and a Canadian one.
Toronto resident McFadden is up for his collection What's the Score, while Pollock — who lives in Madison, Wis., is in the running for Sailing to Babylon. Williams, of Brampton, Ont., made the cut for Personals.
The international finalists are:
- Like a Straw Bird It Follows Me, and Other Poems by Houston-based Fady Joudah, translated from the Arabic, written by Ramallah-based Ghassan Zaqtan;
- Liquid Nitrogen by Jennifer Maiden;
- Night of the Republic by Alan Shapiro, who is a professor at the University of North Carolina;
- Our Andromeda by Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Brenda Shaughnessy.
The international judging panel — Canadian Suzanne Buffam, American Mark Doty and Wang Ping of China — read 509 books of poetry from 40 countries, including 15 translations.
The seven finalists will receive $10,000 each for participating in short list readings on June 12. The two winners — who will be announced the following night — will each receive $65,000.