Q

Jordan Abel's Griffin Poetry Prize win is for 'everyone that fights against appropriation'

B.C. poet Jordan Abel's collection of poetry, which aimed to reclaim a painful slur against Indigenous people, took home this year's Griffin Poetry Prize. Abel talks to Tom Power about this big win and what it means to the Nisga'a writer.
Griffin Poetry Prize winner Jordan Abel and Tom Power in the q studios in Toronto, Ont. (Melody Lau/CBC)

The results are in and this year's Griffin Poetry Prize winner is B.C. poet Jordan Abel. 

Abel took home the title and $65,000 for his collection, titled Injun. For Abel, who is of Nisga'a heritage, the collection was his way of examining and reclaiming the word, a term with a painful history, particularly in Canada and the U.S. The collection is out now, and today, Abel joins Tom Power in the studio to discuss his big win and what this means to the Indigenous writer. 

— Produced by Ty Callender