Griffin Poetry Prize

The Griffin Poetry Prize is a Canadian 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.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> In 2022, the two awards were consolidated into a single international prize of CAD$130,000.<ref name="AP"/> 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.<ref name=firstbook>Cassandra Drudi, "Emily Riddle wins inaugural $10K Griffin Canadian First Book Prize" Template:Webarchive. Quill & Quire, May 17, 2023.</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="griffinpoetryprize.com">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="griffinpoetryprize.com"/>

Selections from the shortlisted works are gathered annually in The Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other projects have included funding a statue in tribute to poet Al Purdy,<ref>Literary luminaries attend unveiling of statue of 'people's poet' Al Purdy (May 21, 2008) Template:Webarchive – The Canadian Press</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2022, Griffin Poetry Prize officials announced that the Canadian and international awards would be consolidated into a single award of CAD$130,000.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="AP">Template:Cite news</ref> Critics from within Canadian poetry expressed concern about loss of opportunities "given the role the award played in securing grants and jobs".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Nicole Thompson, "Writers’ Trust Poetry Prize more than doubles to $60K with Scott Griffin contribution" Template:Webarchive. Toronto Star, April 5, 2023.</ref>

Honorees and judges

2000s

Griffin Poetry Prize winners, finalists, and judges, 2001-2009

Year	Category	Poet	Title	Result	Ref.
2001Template:NoteTag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Men in the Off Hours	Winner	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Nine Visits to the Mythworld	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Another Gravity	Finalist
	International	Template:Sortname and Heather McHugh (trans.)	Glottal Stop: 101 Poems by Paul Celan	Winner
		Template:Sortname and Chana Kronfeld (trans.)	Open Closed Open by Yehuda Amichai	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Selected Poems	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Learning Human	Finalist
2002Template:NoteTag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Eunoia	Winner	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":23">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Sheep's Vigil by a Fervent Person	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Short Haul Engine	Finalist
	International	Template:Sortname	Disobedience	Winner
		Template:Sortname	Maraca	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Homer: War Music	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Conscious and Verbal	Finalist
2003Template:NoteTag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Concrete and Wild Carrot	Winner
		Template:Sortname	thirsty	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Planet Earth: Poems Selected and New	Finalist
	International	Template:Sortname	Moy Sand and Gravel	Winner
		Template:Sortname	Mr And Mrs Scotland are Dead: Poems 1980–1994	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	American Sonnets: poems	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Steal Away: selected and new poems	Finalist
2004Template:NoteTag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Loop	Winner
		Template:Sortname	Now You Care	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	go-go dancing for Elvis	Finalist
	International	Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Winner
		Template:Sortname	Notes From the Divided Country	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Finalist
2005Template:NoteTag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Short Journey Upriver Toward Oishida	Winner
		Template:Sortname	Changing on the Fly	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Camber	Finalist
	International	Template:Sortname	Selected Poems: 1963–2003	Winner
		Template:Sortname	On the Ground	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Corpus	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Finalist
2006Template:NoteTag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Nerve Squall	Winner
		Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Little theatres	Finalist
	International	Template:Sortname	Born to Slow Horses	Winner
		Template:Sortname (trans.)	Ashes for Breakfast: Selected Poems fby Durs Grünbein	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Company of Moths	Finalist
		Template:Sortname (trans.)	Template:Sort by Dunya Mikhail	Finalist
	Lifetime Recognition	Template:Sortname		Winner
2007Template:NoteTag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Strike/Slip	Winner
		Template:Sortname	Airstream Land Yacht	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Ontological Necessities	Finalist
	International	Template:Sortname	Scar Tissue	Winner
		Template:Sortname	Tramp in Flames	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Salvation Blues	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Ooga-Booga	Finalist
2008Template:NoteTag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Winner	<ref>"Another prize for B.C. poet Robin Blaser, and some advice" Template:Webarchive,Vancouver Sun, June 6, 2008.</ref>
		Template:Sortname and Erín Moure (trans.)	Notebook of Roses and Civilization by Nicole Brossard	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Why Are You So Sad? Selected Poems of David W. McFadden	Finalist
	International	Template:Sortname	Notes from the Air: Selected Later Poems	Winner
		Template:Sortname	Ripple Effect: New and Selected Poems	Finalist
		Template:Sortname (trans.)	The Complete Poetry: A Bilingual Edition by Cesar Vallejo	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Selected Poems 1969–2005	Finalist
	Lifetime Recognition	Template:Sortname		Winner	<ref>"Robin Blaser and Ko Un Win Griffin Poetry Prizes!" Template:Webarchive, University of California Press blog, June 5, 2008.</ref>
2009Template:NoteTag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Winner
		Template:Sortname	Revolver	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Crabwise to the Hounds	Finalist
	International	Template:Sortname	Rising, Falling, Hovering	Winner
		Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Life on Earth	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Primitive Mentor	Finalist
	Lifetime Recognition	Template:Sortname		Winner

2010s

Griffin Poetry Prize winners, finalists, and judges, 2010-2019

Year	Category	Poet	Title	Result	Ref.
2010Template:NoteTag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Pigeon	Winner	<ref name=":23" />
		Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Coal and Roses	Finalist
	International	Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Winner
		Template:Sortname	Grain	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Finalist
		Template:Sortname (trans.)	Cold Spring in Winter by Valérie Rouzeau	Finalist
	Lifetime Recognition	Template:Sortname		Winner
2011Template:NoteTag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Ossuaries	Winner	<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Finalist	<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Lookout	Finalist	<ref name=":1" />
	International	Template:Sortname	Heavenly Questions	Winner	<ref name=":0" />
		Template:Sortname	Human Chain	Finalist	<ref name=":1" />
		Template:Sortname (trans.)	Adonis: Selected Poems by Adunis	Finalist	<ref name=":1" />
		Template:Sortname (trans.)	Template:Sort by Francois Jacqmin	Finalist	<ref name=":1" />
	Lifetime Recognition	Template:Sortname		Winner
2012Template:NoteTag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Methodist Hatchet	Winner
		Template:Sortname	Killdeer	Finalist	<ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Forge	Finalist	<ref name=":2" />
	International	Template:Sortname	Night	Winner
		Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Finalist	<ref name=":2" />
		Template:Sortname	November	Finalist	<ref name=":2" />
		Template:Sortname (trans.)	Sobbing Superpower: Selected Poems of Tadeusz Rózewicz	Finalist	<ref name=":2" />
	Lifetime Recognition	Template:Sortname		Winner
2013Template:Notetag	Canada	Template:Sortname	What's the Score?	Winner	<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Sailing to Babylon	Finalist	<ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Personals	Finalist	<ref name=":4" />
	International	Template:Sortname (trans.)	The Straw Bird It Follows Me, and Other Poems by Ghassan Zaqtan	Winner	<ref name=":3" />
		Template:Sortname	Liquid Nitrogen	Finalist	<ref name=":4" />
		Template:Sortname	Night of the Republic	Finalist	<ref name=":4" />
		Template:Sortname	Our Andromeda	Finalist	<ref name=":4" />
2014Template:Notetag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Red Doc>	Winner	<ref name=":5">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Ocean	Finalist	<ref name=":6">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Correspondences	Finalist	<ref name=":6" />
	International	Template:Sortname	Seasonal Works with Letters on Fire	Winner	<ref name=":5" />
		Template:Sortname	Pilgrim's Flower	Finalist	<ref name=":6" />
		Template:Sortname	Silverchest	Finalist	<ref name=":6" />
		Template:Sortname (trans.)	Colonies by Tomasz Różycki	Finalist	<ref name=":6" />
	Lifetime Recognition	Template:Sortname		Winner
2015Template:Notetag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Blue Sonoma	Winner	<ref name=":7">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Congotronic	Finalist	<ref name=":8">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Finalist	<ref name=":8" />
	International	Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Winner	<ref name=":7" />
		Template:Sortname (trans.)	Something Crosses My Mind by Wang Xiaoni	Finalist	<ref name=":8" />
		Template:Sortname (trans.)	Finite Formulae & Theories of Chance by Wioletta Greg	Finalist	<ref name=":8" />
		Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Finalist	<ref name=":8" />
	Lifetime Recognition	Template:Sortname		Winner
2016Template:NoteTag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Infinite Citizen of the Shaking Tent	Winner	<ref name="theglobeandmail.com">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":9">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname and Patrick Friesen (trans.)	Frayed Opus for Strings & Wind Instruments by Ulrikka S. Gernes	Finalist	<ref name=":10">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Tell: poems for a girlhood	Finalist	<ref name=":10" />
	International	Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Winner	<ref name="theglobeandmail.com" /><ref name=":9" />
		Template:Sortname	Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings	Finalist	<ref name=":10" />
		Template:Sortname	40 Sonnets	Finalist	<ref name=":10" />
		Template:Sortname	Heaven	Finalist	<ref name=":10" />
	Lifetime Recognition	Template:Sortname		Winner	<ref name="theglobeandmail.com" />
2017Template:Notetag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Injun	Winner	<ref name=":11">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":24">Template:Cite news</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Violet Energy Ingots	Finalist	<ref name=":12">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Silvija	Finalist	<ref name=":12" />
	International	Template:Sortname	Falling Awake	Winner	<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":24" />
		Template:Sortname	World of Made and Unmade	Finalist	<ref name=":24" /><ref name=":12" />
		Template:Sortname (trans.)	In Praise of Defeat by Abdellatif Laabi	Finalist	<ref name=":24" /><ref name=":12" />
		Template:Sortname	Say Something Back	Finalist	<ref name=":24" /><ref name=":12" />
	Lifetime Recognition	Template:Sortname		Winner	<ref name=":11" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2018Template:Notetag	Canada	Template:Sortname	This Wound is a World	Winner	<ref name=":13">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	I have to live.	Finalist	<ref name=":14">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Same Diff	Finalist	<ref name=":14" />
	International	Template:Sortname	Debths	Winner	<ref name=":13" />
		Template:Sortname	Heaven is All Goodbyes	Finalist	<ref name=":14" />
		Template:Sortname	Whereas	Finalist	<ref name=":14" />
		Template:Sortname	Hard Child	Finalist	<ref name=":14" />
	Lifetime Recognition	Template:Sortname		Winner	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2019Template:NoteTag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Quarrels	Winner	<ref name=":15">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Finalist	<ref name=":16">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Finalist	<ref name=":16" />
	International	Template:Sortname (trans.)	Autobiography of Death by Kim Hyesoon	Winner	<ref name=":15" />
		Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Finalist	<ref name=":16" />
		Template:Sortname	Lake Michigan	Finalist	<ref name=":16" />
		Template:Sortname (trans.)	Negative Space by Luljeta Lleshanaku	Finalist	<ref name=":16" />
	Lifetime Recognition	Template:Sortname		Winner	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name=":23" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, in 2023, the Canadian-specific prize was eliminated with only one winner selected each year who wins $130,000.<ref name=":23" />

2020-2022

Griffin Poetry Prize winners, finalists, and judges, 2020-2022

Year	Category	Poet	Title	Result	Ref.
2020Template:Notetag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Magnetic Equator	Winner	<ref name=":17">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	How She Read	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	heft	Finalist
	International	Template:Sortname (trans.)	Time by Etel Adnan	Winner	<ref name=":17" />
		Template:Sortname	How to Dress a Fish	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Arias	Finalist
		Template:Sortname	Lima :: Limón	Finalist
2021Template:Notetag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Winner	<ref name="bresge">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":18">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Finalist	<ref name=":19">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Pluviophile	Finalist	<ref name=":19" />
	International	Template:Sortname	Music for the Dead and Resurrected	Winner	<ref name="bresge" /><ref name=":18" />
		Template:Sortname	Obit	Finalist	<ref name=":19" />
		Template:Sortname	Underworld Lit	Finalist	<ref name=":19" />
		Template:Sortname and Changtai Bi (trans.)	My Name Will Grow Wide Like a Tree by Yi Lei	Finalist	<ref name=":19" />
2022Template:Notetag	Canada	Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	Winner	<ref name="oloruntoba">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":20">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Dream of No One But Myself	Finalist	<ref name=":21">Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname	Letters in a Bruised Cosmos	Finalist	<ref name=":21" />
	International	Template:Sortname	Sho	Winner	<ref name="oloruntoba" /><ref name=":20" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
		Template:Sortname (trans.)	Late to the House of Words by Gemma Gorga	Finalist	<ref name=":21" />
		Template:Sortname and Dzvinia Orlowsky (trans.)	Eccentric Days of Hope and Sorrow by Natalka Bilotserkivets	Finalist	<ref name=":21" />
		Template:Sortname	Asked What Has Changed	Finalist	<ref name=":21" />

2023-present

Canadian First Book Prize

Canadian First Book Prize winners

Year	Poet	Title	Ref.
2023	Template:Sortname	Template:Sort	<ref name="firstbook" />
2024	Template:Sortname	Chores	<ref>Cassandra Drudi, "Newfoundland poet Maggie Burton wins 2024 Griffin Canadian First Book Prize". Quill & Quire, May 29, 2024.</ref>
2025	Template:Sortname	Northerny	<ref>Inderjit Deogun, "Dawn Macdonald wins $10K Griffin Canadian First Book Prize". Quill & Quire, May 21, 2025.</ref>

Griffin Poetry Prize

Griffin Poetry Prize winners, finalists, and judges, 2023–present

Year	Poet	Title	Result	Ref.
2023	Template:Sortname	Best Barbarian	Winner	<ref>Nicole Thompson, "American poet Roger Reeves wins Griffin Poetry Prize for ‘Best Barbarian’". Toronto Star, June 7, 2023.</ref>
	Template:Sortname (translated by Robyn Creswell)	Template:Sort	Finalist	<ref name="drudi2023">Template:Cite web</ref>
	Template:Sortname	Template:Sort
	Template:Sortname	Exculpatory Lilies
	Template:Sortname	Time Is a Mother
2024	Template:Sortname	Self-Portrait in the Zone of Silence	Winner	<ref>Cassandra Drudi, "George McWhirter wins Griffin Poetry Prize for Homero Aridjis translation". Quill & Quire, June 6, 2024.</ref>
	Template:Sortname	To 2040	Finalist	<ref>"Vancouver poet and translator George McWhirter makes shortlist for $130K Griffin Poetry Prize". CBC Books, April 17, 2024.</ref>
	Template:Sortname	School of Instructions
	Template:Sortname (translated by Amelia M. Glaser and Yuliya Ilchuk)	A Crash Course in Molotov Cocktails
	Template:Sortname	Door
2025	Template:Sortname (translated by Karen Leeder)	Psyche Running	Winner	<ref name="v374">Template:Cite web</ref>
	Template:Sortname (translated by Aaron Coleman)	The Great Zoo	Finalist	<ref>"5 books shortlisted for the $130K Griffin Poetry Prize". CBC Books, April 23, 2025.</ref>
	Template:Sortname	Scattered Snows, to the North
	Template:Sortname (translated by Brian Henry)	Kiss the Eyes of Peace
	Template:Sortname	Modern Poetry

See also

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

Notes

<references group="note" />

External links

• Template: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