Blaser and Ashbery Win Griffin Poetry Prize
Posted on June 5, 2008
The winners of the Griffin Poetry Prize have been announced. The C$100,000 Griffin Poetry Prize is the richest poetry prize in the world for a single volume of poetry. The prize money is divided among the two winners. 83-year-old Robin Blaser was the Canadian winner for his collection, The Holy Forest: Collected Poems. New York's John Ashbery won the international prize for Notes from the Air: Selected Later Poems. The National Post reports that Blaser said, "Vive la poesie. Long live poetry." as he took the podium.
"Life is full of surprises, isn't it?" said Blaser as he took the podium. "Vive la poesie. Long live poetry."You can read more about the prize on the website at griffinpoetryprize.com.The prize was founded in 2000, and is awarded to two books of poetry - including translations - published in English the previous year. The two other finalists on the Canadian shortlist were David W. McFadden for Why Are You So Sad? Selected Poems of David W. McFadden; Erin Moure and Robert Majzels for translating Nicole Brossard's Notebook of Roses and Civilization. The three other finalists on the International shortlist were Elaine Equi for Ripple Effect: New and Selected Poems; David Harsent for Selected Poems 1969-2005; Clayton Eshleman, translator of The Complete Poetry of Cesar Vallejo.
This year's jury was comprised of Vanouver writer George Bowering, New York-by-way-of-London writer James Lasdun, and Mexican poet Pura Lopez Colome. The judges read over 500 books from 31 countries before deciding the finalists.