THE GRIFFIN TRUST
For Excellence In PoetryPress CoverageThe following are highlights of the latest media coverage of the Griffin Poetry Prize and its principals.Note: Some of the links included here require publication subscriptions or registrations. 
September 1, 2009
Griffin winner says trips abroad are raising profile of Canada's poets
by Victoria Ahearn Griffin Poetry Prize winner A.F. Moritz is packing his ballpoint pens and notepads for a trip to Iceland next week with other associates of the prestigious award. The group is set to participate in the Reykjavik International Literary Festival, kicking off Sunday, and Moritz expects to find plenty of poetic inspiration - as well as fans of Canadian poetry - among the city's heated sidewalks, hot springs and volcanic landscapes. June 5, 2009
Matterstuff: Poetry for materialists
Griffin Magick
by Matthew Tierney Starring Scott Griffin as Merlin. Poetry whirlwind this past week, shortlist readings followed by “the highlight of the literary calendar,” the dinner. So say those who manage to score tickets, anyway. Yours humbly among them.  June 5, 2009
Griffins flew, poets were good craic, too
by Joe Fiorito You have heard by now who won the Griffin poetry prizes; if you did not, I can tell you everybody won, but A.F. Moritz and C.D. Wright enjoyed it more. The evening of the prizes was a very pretty party, but I prefer the evening of the readings, and the patter of the poets.  June 4, 2009
Moritz, Wright winners of Griffin poetry prizes A.F. Moritz of Toronto and C.D. Wright of Providence, R.I., are the winners of the 2009 Griffin poetry prizes totalling $100,000. Wright had tears in her eyes while giving a brief acceptance speech. "It was an emotional moment," Wright said later. "I'm a very good loser, I'm a very awkward winner. I've been well-rewarded by the poetry community, but this is very moving to me."  June 4, 2009
The Wright stuff
by Damian Rogers There must be something in the initials. The American poet C.D. Wright and the Canadian poet A.F. Moritz are both $50,000 richer today, following the award ceremony of this year’s Griffin Poetry Prize, held at a lovely Mexican-themed gala dinner-and-dance party last night in the Distillery District … Throughout the two days of the festivities, talk often focused on poetry’s place in contemporary culture, many suggesting that there is a renaissance afoot, buoyed by the staggering amount of good writing currently being done (which is, no doubt, buoyed in turn by the possible increase in an interested audience). June 4, 2009
Veteran poet wins Griffin Prize
by Vit Wagner In what was presented as a competition between three generations of Canadian poets, it was the veteran A.F. Moritz who emerged as the Canadian winner of the Griffin Poetry Prize, the world's most lucrative for verse, mduring last night's gala bash in the Distillery District. Moritz, the author of more than 15 collections of verse, took home the $50,000 award for his current collection, The Sentinel … An equal $50,000 award went to the international winner, U.S. poet C.D. Wright, whose Rising, Falling, Hovering triumphed over collections by countryman Dean Young, Irish poet Derek Mahon and Scottish writer Mick Imlah, who died earlier this year of Lou Gehrig's disease. Click here to view a Canadian Press video showcasing the Griffin awards evening.  June 4, 2009
Griffin Prize Winners Make an Initial Impression
by Jessica Ford It turns out that if you want to be a successful poet and $50,000 richer, you better consider going by your initials. The ninth annual Griffin Poetry Prize winners were announced last night at the Fermenting Cellar in the Distillery District, with A.F. Moritz winning the Canadian award for his book of poetry The Sentinel and American poet C.D. Wright winning the International prize for her book, Rising, Falling, Hovering. 
June 4, 2009
A. F. Moritz named Canadian winner of 2009 Griffin Poetry Prize
by Mark Medley A. F. Moritz was named the Canadian winner of the 2009 Griffin Poetry Prize at a gala ceremony last night in Toronto. Moritz, 62, was awarded the $50,000 prize for his collection The Sentinel. On the international side, second time was the charm for American poet C. D. Wright, who was the international winner for her collecting Rising, Falling, Hovering. She was last nominated in 2003 for her collection Steal Away, but lost to Paul Muldoon.  June 4, 2009
Barrington resident wins big Canadian poetry prize
by Bryan Rourke C.D. Wright, an English professor at Brown and a Barrington resident, has won this year's Griffin Poetry Prize. It is Canada's biggest poetry competition, and one of the biggest in the world. Two winners, one in the Canadian division and one in the international division, each received $45,000 (US).  June 4, 2009
Moritz, Wright win Griffins
by Suzanne Gardner Prolific poet A. F. Moritz was awarded the 2009 Griffin Poetry Prize at a gala on Wednesday night in Toronto. The author of more than 15 books of poetry won the $50,000 award for his 2008 collection The Sentinel.  June 4, 2009
Toronto, Rhode Island poets win $50,000 Griffin Prize
by John Barber A Rhode Island academic described as “America’s most original daring and scary poet” won the 2009 Griffin Prize for international poetry at a ceremony in Toronto Wednesday night. Rising, Falling, Hovering by C.D. Wright is a “work of harrowing power and genius,” said jury chairman Michael Redhill. Toronto poet A.F. Moritz won the prize awarded annually to a Canadian poet for his work The Sentinel.  June 3, 2009
A.F. Moritz of Toronto and C.D. Wright are the winners of the 2009 Griffin A.F. Moritz, a professor at the University of Toronto's Victoria College, won the prestigious Griffin Poetry Prize on Wednesday for "The Sentinel," which was also shortlisted for Governor General's Literary Award last year. June 3, 2009
Preaching to the converted: a report from The Griffin Poetry Prize readings
by Mark Medley "Poetry readings do not usually command an audience of this size," remarked Scott Griffin, chairman of the Griffin Trust For Excellence in Poetry on Tuesday night. But this evening was different. We were, he said, about to hear some of the best poetry in the world from some of the world's best poets. A sold-out audience of 800 people -- including a who's who of the CanLit scene -- had gathered at MacMillan Theatre on the University of Toronto campus to hear the finalists for the 2009 Griffin Poetry Prize, which will be handed out Wednesday night at a gala ceremony in Toronto.  June 3, 2009
Griffin Poetry Prize Readings - poetry as theatre
by Sam Mooney It’s been years since I went to a poetry reading. Tonight I went to the Griffin Poetry Prize Readings. Elaine, who came with me, had never been to one. I can’t even remember where I read about the Griffin Prize or about the readings by the poets shortlisted for the awards but I remember thinking that it really wouldn’t be that different than a playwright reading a play. A performance. June 2, 2009
The Griffin Prize Questionnaires
by Mark Medley The Afterword has asked the finalists on the Canadian and International shortlists to answer a few questions about their craft:
June 2, 2009
He practises poetry without prejudice
Griffin Prize Gala; Editor-writer Kevin Connolly lets the words guide his journey
by Mark Medley This evening, Kevin Connolly will recite his poetry for more than 800 people at the University of Toronto. It is by far the largest audience to which the 47-year-old poet has read. "Many poetry readings, half the people in there have been dragged there. Or they're in the bar already and can't get their bill quick enough to get out," he says, nursing a cranberry juice in the back room of Sarah's Cafe, a local bar a few minutes from the home in Toronto's east end that he shares with writer Gil Adamson. "Eight hundred? You don't get the chance to do that as a writer, let alone as a poet. That's going to be fun. I've just got to make sure I don't screw it up." June 2, 2009
Brown prof’s book of poetry a finalist in an international run-off
by Bryan Rourke On Tuesday, C.D. Wright travels to Toronto, again. Once more, she’ll compete with words. “I didn’t win before,” says the Barrington resident and Brown professor of English. “But they have a really great party, a really great party. So I’m a good loser, though I would prefer to win.” June 1, 2009
Canada’s 10 best poets?
by Steven W. Beattie … This has, of course, prompted a flurry of comments about the relative significance of the MIAs, and the utility (or lack thereof) of such a list in the first place … June 1, 2009
A.F. Moritz: master of metaphor
by James Adams Born in the USA, Griffin Prize finalist A.F. Moritz lauds his adopted country of Canada for its humility and openness.  June, 2009
Canadian Primal
Five poet-thinkers redefine our relationship to nature
by Mark Dickinson There’s an ecological renaissance under way in Canada right now, but chances are you haven’t heard of it, because it is flowering in one of the most ignored and feared regions of the high arts: poetry. Its chief proponents — Robert Bringhurst, Dennis Lee, Tim Lilburn, Don McKay, and Jan Zwicky, all major Canadian poets — have together earned around a dozen nominations for Governor General’s Literary Awards, in addition to numerous other accolades, such as the prestigious Griffin Poetry Prize. As rewarding as their work is, it has yet to be discovered by a wider audience. May 31, 2009
Late poet's Griffin nomination delights loved ones Late Scottish poet Mick Imlah, who died in January of Lou Gehrig's disease at age 52, wasn't much of a self-promoter, says his longtime friend, Mark Ford. "He didn't do much to try and make himself known or famous," Ford, a professor of English and American literature at University College London, said in a recent phone interview. "He just got on with it and the kick he got out of writing these things was what kept him doing them." May 31, 2009
Griffin bards range from dark to whimsy
A starry cast of finalists ponders everything from the Iraq war to Björk to rude waitresses. There are no losers here
by Barbara Carey The Griffin Poetry Prize is a big deal in literary circles, and not only in Canada. Now in its ninth year, the Griffin is among the world's most lucrative awards for poetry, and equals the Giller Prize for fiction as the biggest single winning payout in CanLit. Two poets win the Griffin each year: $50,000 goes to a Canadian poet and the same amount to an international one. May 30, 2009
Poet's debut full of surprises
Archaeologist Jeramy Dodds says prestigious nod for first collection is 'a little overwhelming'
by Vit Wagner It doesn't get much bigger in poetry circles than the Griffin prize, the planet's most lucrative honour for verse, as well as one of the most prestigious. So it's understandable that Jeramy Dodds might feel a bit bowled over that his debut collection, Crabwise to the Hounds, is a finalist for this year's award. May 29, 2009
Pursuing the Griffin
Who’s who among nominees for the Griffin Prize — and why Albert Moriz will win it
by Harold Heft The stated goal of the prize, in the words of the Griffin Trust, is "to spark the public's imagination and raise awareness of the crucial role poetry plays in our cultural life." This is a noble aim, incongruous in a country where the poetry section of our local book stores is often smaller than the manga or diet books sections (with Canadian poetry a sliver of a sub-section). To the minority of Canadians who care about poetry, Scott Griffin is Don Quixote, fighting a vital battle to adjust priorities. May 27, 2009
The glories of the Griffin
The trust and its annual prize continue to extend poetry’s reach
by Damian Rogers As has often been reported, Scott Griffin, Canadian captain of industry and noted philanthropist, created The Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry after a dinner party, attended by Michael Ondaatje and David Young, during which the guests lamented the decline of poetry’s place in public consciousness. Determined to promote the art’s profile, the Griffin Trust launched the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2001, offering a large purse (the prize is now $50,000) to both a Canadian poet and an international poet. Eight years later, there are promising signs that the mission is making its mark here in Toronto. May 14, 2009
‘Showing us things both marvellous and horrific'
Robin Blaser, 1925-2009: poet, scholar, teacher, transgressor
by Sandra Martin Robin Blaser always made an impression. Beautiful with a sculpted face, moody eyes and a delicately attuned ear, he wrote poetry that was both playful and intricately laden with cultural and literary references. George Bowering, an admirer since he first read him in Donald Allen's anthology, The New American Poetry: 1945-1960, calls Mr. Blaser one of "the scholar poets."  May 14, 2009
The incomparable Robin Blaser
PROUD LIVES / Remembering the elder statesman of Vancouver poetry
by Rob McLennan Robin Blaser's early life was marked by his association with two of America's finest poets. At Berkeley, he met fellow young poets Jack Spicer and Robert Duncan (in part through the anarcho-passivist movement). They became a loose trio of gay men and wrote much of the poetry at the centre of the San Francisco Renaissance of the 1950s and '60s.  May 8, 2009
Robin Blaser, 1925-2009: Death’s Duty
by Stan Persky One of the first poems of Blaser’s to which I paid attention, published in editor Don Allen’s anthology, The New American Poetry, 1945-60 (1960), was an untitled sonnet-like work that begins, “And when I pay death’s duty / a few men will come to mind.” May 8, 2009
Robin Blaser: Sic transit gloria mundi
by Judith Fitzgerald Canada and the world mourns the loss of a seminal figure in English-language poetry and poetics today: One of our greatest has passed away. Born in Denver, CO (18 May 1925), the incomparable and much-loved poet Robin Blaser grew up in Idaho before landing in Berkeley, CA in 1944. It was there he met Robert Duncan, Jack Spicer and Robert Creeley among other key members of the movement that would come to be known as the San Francisco Renaissance of the 1950s and early 1960s. When he settled in Canada in 1966, he put down roots in Vancouver's artist-friendly neighbourhood of Kitsilano and joined the department of English at Simon Fraser University (where his friend, poet and professor George Bowering, also taught; both poets, in fact, hold positions of SFU Professors Emeriti). May 7, 2009
Robin Blaser Tribute
by Charles Bernstein Click here for a moving tribute to poet Robin Blaser on Charles Bernstein's blog on the Electronic Poetry Center Web site (University of Buffalo).  April 13, 2009
Griffin Poetry Prize Shortlist Announcement Click here to view the Bravo! News coverage of the announcement of the 2009 Griffin Poetry Prize shortlist. April 11, 2009
A Griffin gathering
by Paul Vermeersch The 21st century so far has proved incredibly fruitful for Canadian writers of poetry. Many of our most-recognized senior poets continue to publish masterful new work, and the level of accomplishment and sophistication expected of our emerging poets is continually rising. All of this, of course, is wonderful news for Canadian readers, and this year's Griffin Poetry Prize short list is proof that the happy trend continues. April 8, 2009
Griffin Poetry Prize reaction
by Derek Weiler Some reaction to the Griffin Poetry Prize shortlist, unveiled yesterday, is trickling in. The Canadian Press interviews two nominees, Jeramy Dodds and Kevin Connolly, while the National Post has a backgrounder on this year’s selections. Q&Q reviewer and conflict watchdog Zachariah Wells says this is “one of the best Canadian shortlists I’ve seen … Kudos to Michael Redhill, this year’s Canadian judge.” April 8, 2009
Griffin shortlist unveiled
by James Adams It's a horse race on both tracks of the 2009 Griffin Prize for excellence in English-language poetry. April 7, 2009
Stars Poetica
by Matt Kim The finalists for the Griffin Poetry Prize were announced earlier today, and Torontoist was happily in attendance.
April 7, 2009
3 Canadians, 4 international poets nominated for Griffin Prize Poets from Ireland, Scotland and the U.S. have made the short list for the Griffin Poetry Prize, the prize that awards $50,000 each to a Canadian poet and an international poet every year. Among the nominees is Scotland's Mick Imlah, who died of Lou Gehrig's disease this January, shortly after submitting his book, The Lost Leader. April 7, 2009
Shortlists announced for Griffin Poetry Prize
by Mark Medley As the publishing industry struggles to stay afloat, Canadian businessman Scott Griffin is handing out a $100,000 lifeline to keep poetry alive and well. Yesterday morning, after reciting some translated verse by Ezra Pound to a room full of journalists and editors, he revealed the nominees for the 9th annual Griffin Poetry Prize. April 7, 2009
Three Ontarians on Canadian short list for lucrative Griffin Poetry Prize Camaraderie, not competition, is being felt by the Canadian finalists in the running for this year's lucrative Griffin Poetry Prize. Kevin Connolly and A. F. Moritz, both of Toronto, and Jeramy Dodds of Orono, Ont., all made the short list for the $50,000 Canadian award on Tuesday - and all have close ties.
April 7, 2009
Scott Griffin on Ontario Today “Spring has sprung, the grass has riz, I wonder where the birdies is.” Well THAT verse won't win any prizes. But three lucky Canadians have made the shortlist for The Griffin Poetry prize. And the Torontonian who created the extremely lucrative award will join us. Click here for an audio clip of the interview. April 7, 2009
Anansi dominates Griffin Poetry Prize
by Vit Wagner Toronto indie publisher House of Anansi came close to cornering the market on this year's Griffin Poetry Prize, garnering two of the three spots on the Canadian shortlist announced this morning. April 1, 2009
Five ways to celebrate National Poetry Month
by Ron Nurwisah 4) Buy a poet's work
We know there are a lot of poets out there and it's hard to figure out what poetry to buy, thankfully the Griffin Poetry Prize announces their shortlist on April 7. After that why don't you head on down to your favourite bookstore and pick something up off the shortlist.
 December 12, 2008
Online Exclusive: Interview with Christian Bok
by Zachariah Wells Shortly after the news of this year’s poetry GG controversy broke, I got an email from Owen Percy, a PhD candidate at the University of Calgary. Percy’s research focuses on, in his own words, “literary awards in Canada, cultural prestige, and the history of the GGs in English poetry.” He very kindly sent me an electronic copy of his interview with Christian Bök on this very subject. I think it’s a very important document in light of recent events. The interview was published in Open Letter magazine last summer, but was not available online. Percy, Bök and Open Letter have graciously allowed me to reproduce the interview here on CLM. The full citation for the interview is as follows: Bök, Christian. “The Politics of Poetics: Christian Bök on Success, Recognition, Jury Duty, and the Governor General’s Awards.” Interviewed by Owen Percy. Open Letter 13.3 (Summer 2007): 113-131. Read the complete interview here.  September 6, 2008
‘Hippest man on earth’
Poet Robin Blaser is esteemed internationally, yet hardly a household name at home
by Douglas Todd Vancouver’s Robin Blaser joined some of the planet’s most renowned poets two months ago on stage at a gala literary event in Toronto, where he read some of his verse. A newspaper writer described Blaser in the crowded auditorium as “an older man with pure white hair and the boyish, unlined face of a fallen angel.” Then the writer inserted the ultimate compliment: #147;He was the hippest guy in the room.” Not bad for an 83-year-old. The next day the “hippest guy in the room” went on to win the $50,000 Griffin Prize for Canadian poetry, based on his recent opus, The Holy Forest: Collected Poems of Robin Blaser.  June 18, 2008
Listen to the prize-giving at the recent Griffin gala, as well as an interview with winning poet John Ashbery This week’s podcast features recordings from the Griffin Poetry Prize event. Along with the awards presentations and acceptance speeches from the gala in Toronto in early June, there’s also a new interview with John Ashbery, who won the international poetry prize.  June 11, 2008
Al Purdy - The Voice of Land
by Paul Vermeersch On May 20, 2008, a statue of the poet Al Purdy was unveiled in Queen’s Park. Toronto poet Paul Vermeersch was in attendance for the dedication ceremony, and he takes this opportunity to reflect on Purdy’s life, death and legacy. EYEWEARJune 11, 2008
Britain needs a major poetry prize for innovative writing like the Turner Prize
by Todd Swift … as The Griffin in Canada evidences – it is possible to have a popular, rich prize that also recognises literary pioneering.  June 10, 2008
B.C. poet Robin Blaser wins the 2008 Griffin Poetry Prize Robin Blaser continues to reap rewards for an impressive career in poetry. This week he became the 2008 Canadian recipient of the Griffin Poetry Prize, the world’s most lucrative poetry award for a single book. June 6, 2008
Epic purse for scribes of verse
by Joe Fiorito The point of the Griffin Prize is the poems; on the other hand, fifty grand is serious, bill-paying money, more than any ten poets might make in a year. And so I went to hear the nominated scribes declaim their work the other night; the reading is a preliminary event, part of the prize apparatus. June 6, 2008
B.C. poet Robin Blaser continues a stellar career by winning the 2008 Griffin Poetry Prize Robin Blaser continues to reap rewards for an impressive career in poetry. This week he became the 2008 Canadian recipient of the Griffin Poetry Prize, the world’s most lucrative poetry award for a single book.  June 5, 2008
Griffin Poetry Prize announced The winners of this year's Griffin Poetry Prize were announced at a colourful Caribbean-themed awards in Toronto on 4 June.  June 5, 2008
Half century of sorrow makes verse anthology
Self-proclaimed ‘sad sack’ uses wit and sarcasm in verse to express emotion
by Lorianna De Giorgio For 50 years, David McFadden has made a living out of being sad. The poet and former journalist has no qualms admitting he isn’t the happiest of people, explaining that the negative thinking overrides a positive outlook any day. June 5, 2008
Blaser gets the Griffin
by James Adams A mere two years after receiving the Griffin Trust’s Lifetime Recognition Award, 83-year-old poet Robin Blaser proved his mettle again by taking home the 2008 Canadian poetry award for his collection The Holy Forest (University of California Press) at last night’s Griffin gala. June 5, 2008
Griffin Prize honours two octogenarian poets
by James Adams Octogenarian poets triumphed at a ceremony bestowing the eighth annual Griffin Prize for poetry Wednesday night in Toronto. New York’s John Ashbery, 81, was the winner of the international section of the prestigious award for his book Notes from the Air: Selected Later Poems. Robin Blaser, 83, took the Canadian honour for his 500-page epic The Holy Forest: Collected Poems. June 5, 2008
Griffin rewards elder statesmen
Winning poets are both in their 80s
by Vit Wagner It was a night for honouring octogenarian legends at the 2008 Griffin Poetry Prize Awards. Jointly, John Ashbery and Robin Blaser have spent more than a century publishing poetry. Each was rewarded for his efforts with a cheque for $50,000 at last night’s eighth gala presentation in Toronto's Distillery District.
June 4, 2008
David McFadden on Ontario Today Money and poetry rarely go together but tonight the fifty thousand dollar Griffin Prize for Poetry will be awarded in Toronto. David McFadden is a Toronto poet and one of the nominees. Click here for an audio clip of the interview. June 4, 2008
Robin Blaser wins Griffin Prize
by Mark Medley “Life is full of surprises, isn’t it?” said Blaser as he took the podium. “Vive la poesie. Long live poetry.”
June 4, 2008
Prestigious Griffin Poetry Prize goes to Blaser and Ashbery Robin Blaser, poet and professor emeritus from Simon Fraser University, was handed the prestigious Griffin Prize for Canadian poetry on Wednesday night. Blaser was joined by John Ashbery, who took home the international Griffin poetry prize. “This is truly a great honour and one I didn’t expect,” said the 83-year-old Blaser, who added that poetry remains “primary” in his life.
June 4, 2008
An athlete in the extreme sport of poetry
A Calgarian nominated for a French book? Because Erin Moure is 'attracted to the impossibility of translating poetry'
by James Adams Early last year, with poet/novelist/playwright Robert Majzels, [Erin Moure] embarked on a French-to-English translation of Cahier de roses et de civilisation, a 2003 book by Nicole Brossard, one of Quebec's most important and most, well, difficile poets. It took her and Majzels almost three months to complete the project, published last fall by Toronto's Coach House Books as Notebook of Roses and Civilization. June 3, 2008
Who said daredevils can’t be poets?
by Mark Medley No one becomes a poet for the money. It’s the act of writing, not the fleeting possibility of reward, that drives them on. Not that rewards are necessarily a bad thing, as the nominees for the Griffin Poetry Prize would surely attest. With $100,000 at stake, it is among the world’s most lucrative poetry prizes. The prize rewards the two best books of poetry published in English during the previous year, including translations.
June 3, 2008
Poets performing prose is the real prize
by Vit Wagner The Griffin Poetry Prize holds a big payday for a couple of fortunate versifiers. But the previous night’s reading – an evening-long recital that has also become a highlight of the annual event – promises a huge payoff for everyone else.
June 1, 2008
Upbeat in the midst of sadness
David McFadden's Griffin-nominated poetry a mirror of his life
by Donna Bailey Nurse Instead of writing a conventional profile of David W. McFadden, I could link together a handful of exuberant poems from his latest collection, shortlisted for this year’s $50,000 Griffin Poetry Prize, to be announced this Wednesday … Death – feelings of grief, loss and regret – represent a surprising underlying theme in this vigorous, ebullient collection, hence its melancholic title: Why Are You So Sad?
May 31, 2008
Man of verse finds spotlight a curse
Poet McFadden was unnerved to be on Griffin Prize shortlist
by Vit Wagner It seems a curious coincidence Toronto poet David W. McFadden, a voracious reader since childhood, has lately been gorging on the prose fiction of Samuel Beckett. Beckett, in addition to being one of the 20th century's greatest literary giants, famously shunned all displays of public recognition, even to the point of hiding out in Tunisia in 1969 when he could have been in Stockholm accepting the Nobel Prize for Literature. It's unlikely McFadden will perform a similar disappearing act should he happen to be the Canadian winner of the $50,000 Griffin Poetry Prize on Wednesday – even if he does admit to being entirely unnerved by finding his name on the shortlist when it was announced last month.
May 23, 2008
Al Purdy: an uncommon poet memorialized In a writing career that spanned more than 50 years, Al Purdy came to be known as the nation’s “unofficial poet laureate.” This week a statue of Purdy was unveiled in Toronto’s Queen’s Park. The statue was commissioned from sculptors Edwin and Veronica Dam de Nogales, and organized by the City of Toronto, the Friends of the Poet Laureate and the Toronto Legacy Project. The statue, Voice of the Land, is located prominently in the park north of the Ontario legislature.  May 21, 2008
‘People’s poet’ Al Purdy's statue unveiled
Canadian Press Eurithe Purdy sat at the feet of her late husband, renowned poet Al Purdy, on Tuesday as a statue of him was unveiled at Queen’s Park. “His pose to me looks so natural, as if he could almost walk away from where he’s reclining,” she said. The three-metre-tall black bronze statue has Purdy perched atop two rocks and staring south onto the grounds of the park, site of the Ontario legislature. The poet died in 2000 at age 81.
May 21, 2008
Purdy statue finds home in Queen#146;s Park
Credited with developing the quintessential Canadian poem
by Jenny Wagler The newcomer in Queen’s Park has none of the stately decorum of his fellow statues. His arms are strong with physical labour. His clothes are working class. His gaze smoulders. Yesterday, Toronto’s literati watched as a statue of Canadian poet Al Purdy moved into a park dominated by political and military figures.
May 20, 2008
Al Purdy statue unveiled CBC Radio Sounds Like Canada host Shelagh Rogers interviews Scott Griffin and Dennis Lee, and they all read their favourite Al Purdy poems and reminisce about him. Click here to listen to the discussion. (Real Audio format, ~24 minutes)
May 20, 2008
Al Purdy statue unveiled Author Margaret Atwood and poet Dennis Lee were among the literary luminaries at an unveiling of a statue of poet Al Purdy in Toronto. The Wooler, Ontario-born writer, who is considered one of the most important Canadian poets of the 20th century, died in April 2000 at the age of 81. His widow, Eurithe Purdy, unveiled the statue on the grounds of Queen’s Park yesterday and sat at the base of the piece, which is made of black bronze. May 20, 2008
Beyond remembering Editorial – There is so much public statuary in London that it can be a struggle for the British to find suitable subjects for new ones. How else to explain the statue of Paddington Bear? Or the monument to horses, dogs, and pigeons that served alongside British and Allied troops in war? The war animal monument’s affecting message: “They had no choice.” Scott Griffin’s message to Canadians is that they have a choice. They can immortalize people other than politicians and proconsuls.  May 17, 2008
Seeing our city through the eyes of a poet
by Gary Barwin David W. McFadden’s book, Why Are You So Sad?, was recently nominated for one of the most prestigious literary prizes in Canada, the Griffin Poetry Prize, and I for one, am delighted. It’s been a long time since his work has been given such recognition. As a writer and as a Hamiltonian, he has been an inspiration to me. I’m pleased to think that as new readers encounter his work, they will discover our city and see in it something of the depth and wonder that McFadden has seen. May 17, 2008
Sculpture of poet Al Purdy ready after six-year delay A sculpture of Al Purdy, often referred to as Canada’s greatest poet, is finally ready and will be unveiled Tuesday at Queen’s Park in Toronto, just steps from the Ontario Legislature. Purdy, who died in 2000 at the age of 82, was a member of the Order of Canada and a two-time winner of the Governor General’s Award for his collections of poetry. Plans have been in place to honour the acclaimed poet since he died.
May 17, 2008
Al Purdy sculpture fired up and ready for its unveiling
by Guy Dixon It’s taken a while, but Al Purdy is ready for his Toronto unveiling. The ceremony on Tuesday afternoon in Toronto’s Queen’s Park, a few steps from the Ontario legislature, will reveal a sculpture of the great poet sitting and gazing off, half in thought, half in amusement. May 10, 2008
Griffin-nominated poet has Hamilton roots
by Doug Foley You can take David McFadden out of Hamilton, but you can’t take Hamilton out of him. The city-born poet’s most recent book, Why Are You So Sad? Selected Poems of David W. McFadden, is filled with references to his old hometown. And it has landed him on the Canadian shortlist for the Griffin Poetry Prize 2008. April 26, 2008
Timely, or time-tested?
When it comes to literary prizes, Fraser Sutherland says, jurors often maintain a high-wire balancing act between the familiar and the new
by Fraser Sutherland To judge by their ages, most of the writers on the shortlists for this year’s Griffin Poetry Prize look a tad geriatric. One is even deceased. César Vallejo, whose Complete Poetry is translated by 73-year-old Clayton Eshleman, died in 1938. John Ashbery (Notes from the Air: Selected Later Poems) and Robin Blaser (The Holy Forest: Collected Poems of Robin Blaser) are in their 80s. The youngest, Erin Moure, co-translator of Nicole Brossard’s Notebook of Roses and Civilization, is, at 53, a mere juvenile. Of course, the age of poets shouldn't matter, since poetry is supposed to be timeless … April 17, 2008
Three Canadian poets are in the running for the lucrative Griffin Poetry Prize This week’s podcast features the three home-grown poets nominated for one of the world’s most well-heeled literary awards. There are two categories in the Griffin Poetry Prize: one for a Canadian poet and the other for an international writer. Both winners will be announced on June 4 and will receive $50,000. The podcast has archival interviews with the three Canadian nominees: Robin Blaser, David McFadden and Nicole Brossard. April 9, 2008
That's 500 pages of quatrains and couplets, stanzas and sonnets
by Adam McDowell, There's nothing short about some of titles on the Griffin Poetry Prize short list, announced yesterday. Three Canadian books will vie for the $50,000 domestic purse: Robin Blaser's 500-page collection The Holy Forest, David McFadden's 328-page Why Are You So Sad? and Notebook of Roses and Civilization, a mere 76-pager by Nicole Brossard (with translators Robert Majzels and Erin Moure).
April 9, 2008
Older poets' greatest hits make the cut
by James Adams Jurors for the Griffin Poetry Prize for excellence in English-language verse leaned heavily on older poets and their “greatest hits” in their choices yesterday for the finalists for its eighth annual instalment.  April 9, 2008
Brossard, McFadden, Blaser vie for Griffin Poetry Prize
Canwest News Service Montreal feminist postmodernist Nicole Brossard and Pulitzer Prize winner John Ashbery are among the writers shortlisted for the $100,000 Griffin Poetry Prize, one of the most lucrative poetry prizes in the world. The annual prize awards $50,000 to each of two winners, one Canadian and one international. 
April 8, 2008
Robin Blaser in the running for the lucrative Griffin Poetry Prize Canadian Press – Simon Fraser University professor emeritus Robin Blaser, considered to be one of North America's most outstanding poets of the postwar period, is in the running for the lucrative Griffin Poetry Prize. April 8, 2008
Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal poets vie for Griffin Prize Vancouver poet Robin Blaser, Toronto's David McFadden and Montreal's Nicole Brossard and her translators have been nominated for the Griffin Poetry Prize. The Griffin Prize, which awards $50,000 to each of two winners, is offered annually to a Canadian and an international poet writing in English. The international nominees are New York-based poets John Ashbery and Elaine Equi, Peruvian poet Cesar Vallejo and his translator and David Harsent of the U.K.
April 8, 2008
Griffin shortlists announced
by Stuart Woods Two small-press titles and another from a U.S. academic press are vying for the $50,000 Griffin Poetry Prize in the Canadian category. Award founder and sponsor Scott Griffin, alongside trustee David Young, announced the Canadian and international shortlists at a press conference in Toronto on Tuesday morning. 
April 8, 2008
When Poetry Meets Politics
What a new Pulitzer Prize winner tells us about age and public writing
by Nathan Heller Time and Materials, Robert Hass' fifth collection of poems, is a book about hitting the cold water of late middle age, but the story it tells is not so much of decline as of reinvention. Hass is in the front lines of a baby-boom generation coming to terms with its past. He was born in San Francisco a few months before the Pearl Harbor bombing and came of age in a cultural landscape overshadowed by Beats, hippies, and the Vietnam War. He got interested in Eastern thought, got subpoenaed as an SDS adviser in Buffalo, returned to California in time for the first tech boom, and eventually taught at Berkeley. The zeitgeist stuck with him like an Al Capp rain cloud even through his 50s: In 1995, Hass – whose poetry features proud regionalism and plainspoken eloquence, not to mention a strong tropism toward sex – became poet laureate during the Clinton administration.
February 16, 2008
Monumental journey
Why it took Scott Griffin seven years to raise a statue of poet Al Purdy
by Tenille Bonoguore It’s not the kind of company Al Purdy would normally keep: a king, a queen, a dusting of premiers, resplendent in rigid formality. This man cut the toes off his too-small shoes and wore them to meet the Governor-General. He wrote poems about drinking and throwing up. His greatest works celebrated the base realities of life. So you have to wonder what Al Purdy would make of the fact that, on May 20, his larger-than-life bronze countenance will be installed at Queen’s Park to become the nation’s first full-sized statue of a Canadian poet.
September 5, 2007
Former poet laureate George Bowering joins Griffin Prize jury George Bowering, Canada's first poet laureate, has been selected to judge one of the country's most distinguished poetry honours.
July 25, 2007
LIT T.O.—July 25–July 30 The 2007 Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology edited by Karen Solie, Anansi. Because we attended the sold-out reading prior to the Awards Gala, we’ve heard some of these poems before, and it’s interesting to see them on the page. We’re mostly familiar with the poets featured on the Canadian shortlist, but are really enjoying getting to know Priscila Uppal’s work better.
June 13, 2007
Charles Wright Interview Charles Wright, recently won the 2007 Griffin Poetry Prize for Scar Tissue. He is also the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the National Book Award, and teaches at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.  June 8, 2007
A winning poet Don McKay has been one of Victoria’s most celebrated poets for years. His extraordinary work draws heavily on nature for inspiration. It’s at once quiet and profound and – we mean this in the best possible way – accessible, exploring our place in the world.
June 8, 2007
B.C. poet wins Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize
Three-times-nominated Don McKay scoops the $50,000 award for his book Strike/Slip
by Rebecca Wigod Twice a bridesmaid, and now the bride. After being nominated three times for the Canadian half of the Griffin Poetry Prize, Don McKay has won the attention-getting $50,000 purse. The B.C. poet, author of Strike/Slip, a book inspired by the landscape along a fault line on southern Vancouver Island, collected the award at a midweek ceremony in Toronto.
June 7, 2007
Books: Griffin Poetry Prize report
by Damian Rogers On June 4, at the seventh annual Griffin Poetry Prize Gala, poets Don McKay and Charles Wright each won the coveted $50,000 purse award for the Canadian and International categories, respectively. And while this brought an end to the sporting competition that is the awkward but necessary framework for shining such a bright light on the often neglected po-biz circus, the lingering effects of so much pixie dust will be felt for some time. The Griffin Prize has in its short lifespan already become an institution, and a remarkably vital one at that, working to etch Toronto’s name that much more deeply into the global literary map.
June 7, 2007
McKay wins $50,000 poetry prize
Ontario-raised poet wins largest Canadian poetry award for his 11th collection, Strike/Slip
by Vit Wagner If there was a sentimental favourite to win the Canadian award at the 2007 Griffin Poetry Prize – and the $50,000 cheque that went with it – it was Don McKay.
June 7, 2007
The Griffin Groove
by Brian D. Johnson Hats off to Scott Griffin for hosting what has routinely become the best awards night of the year—the Griffin Poetry Prize gala. Last night’s 7th annual edition of awards was not the only game in town. There were so many cultural goings-on in Toronto last night that the literati didn’t know which way to turn … But the best party was at the Stone Distillery, where Scott and Krystyne Griffin were honouring the art of poetry with their impeccable hospitality.
June 7, 2007
Celebrated Canadian poet Don McKay wins $50,000 Griffin Prize A veteran Canadian author who has twice won the Governor General’s award for poetry was one of two recipients of the prestigious Griffin Poetry Prize, awarded Wednesday at a lavish ceremony in Toronto. Canadian Don McKay won for Strike/Slip, his 11th book of poetry, which was lauded by judges as a book of “patience, courage, and quiet eloquence.”
June 7, 2007
McKay, Wright share top poetry award and $100,000
Canadian and American to split $100,000
by James Adams Veteran poets triumphed last night at the 7th annual Griffin Poetry Prize ceremony in Toronto's Distillery District. June 7, 2007
Griffin Poetry Prize Winners Don McKay’s Strike/Slip and Charles Wright’s Scar Tissue are the Canadian and international winners, respectively, of the seventh annual Griffin Poetry Prize. June 6, 2007
Don McKay and Charles Wright win prestigious poetry prizes at star-studded gala Canadian Press – Don McKay and Charles Wright were awarded the prestigious Griffin Poetry Prizes Wednesday at a splashy Toronto ceremony that attracted a who's who of Canadian literary icons. June 6, 2007
LIT T.O.—June 6 to June 11 Last night, six of seven poets nominated for The 2007 Griffins – and one actor – read to a sold-out house at the Macmillan Theatre. Imagine: 800+ people clapping ecstatically for poetry, and a standing ovation for lifetime achievement winner Tomas Tranströmer (people wept). Nominee Ken Babstock, who has been the subject of a few interviews this week, told the audience, “If I’m going to be asked one more time by the media if poetry is dead, I’m gonna go postal.”
June 6, 2007
Like music to our ears
by Vit Wagner Whatever pleasure comes from hearing writers read their own work increases exponentially when the writers in question are poets, the best of whose recitations can sound like songs with secret, hidden notes. The musical accompaniment might be missing, but tempo, rhythm and sometimes even melody can be detected when the authors, who are in a privileged position to know how the line is meant to scan, are also the performers.
June 6, 2007
No more rock, this poet’s on a roll
Former guitarist Ken Babstock published his first book of poetry in 1999. Now, his third is up for the richest poetry prize in Canada
by James Adams What’s popularity any way? … A newspaper can feature an article about a handbag every single Saturday. But does poetry want that? … People in the culture are reading poetry, always have and always will. I just don’t know if it has to have the same face as Paris Hilton. – Ken Babstock Ken Babstock admits he has done his “fair share of griping about awards’ short lists,” especially when his name hasn’t appeared on one honour roll or another … In the past few months, however, Babstock has had little cause for caterwauling …  June 4, 2007
McKay hopes award boosts poetry’s rep
Poet, nominated for $50,000 Griffin Prize, says it isn’t the money that matters to him
by Vit Wagner If poet Don McKay is thinking about what it would be like to cash the $50,000 cheque that comes with winning the Griffin Poetry Prize, the two-time runner-up isn't letting on. “I try not to focus on that aspect of it too much because the money is not the heart of it,” he says on the line from Banff Centre, where he has spent the spring coaching young writers.
May 31, 2007
Why Poetry?
by Scott Griffin The other day I was asked why I like poetry, as if liking poetry was some strange aberration that required explanation. “Probably for the same reason that some people like music,” I replied. The question though, spoke volumes about how far poetry had slipped from the mainstream of our cultural lives, which is somewhat bewildering to me. May 19, 2007
The quick and the read
by George Fetherling There’s always much criticism of book prizes because they can sometimes corrupt (or even silence) the winners while scorching the losers, and turning the act of writing into a gladiatorial combat. Because of the genre it represents, the Griffin Poetry Prize is probably an exception. For the most part, even highly sophisticated novel readers feel squeamishly uninformed about contemporary poetry. The Griffin has helped a great deal by becoming a bridge between poets and the all-too-often poem-shy audience. Anne Simpson is the perfect illustration of how this works. She is a Nova Scotian whose first book, Light Falls Through You, took one national and one regional prize. But, to say the least, her reputation and her readership increased dramatically when Loop, her second collection, received the Griffin …  May 3, 2007
Poetry profits
Free-market poets' economy of words
by Robert Priest When poets talk about economy they’re usually referring to the economy of language. But this year, as another Poetry Month passes, there is growing concern about Canadian poetry’s financial future. A quick glace at the headlines might at first be reassuring: the Governor General’s Award has gone up to $25,000 from $15,000, the Griffin Prize has risen from $40,000 to $50,000, and poet laureate positions keep popping up like mushrooms in small towns and cities across the land. Behind the scenes, though, the Harper government has left the mass of Canadian poets a net pay decrease.
April 28, 2007
'The hair on the back of your neck stands up'
With poetry in the spotlight this month, local writers reflect on the genre's rewards
by Lisan Jutras Will it be third time lucky for Don McKay? When we celebrate National Poetry Month each April, we’re tipping our hats not only to the art form, but to the poets themselves, who perform the thankless task of writing what few read and fewer still understand. It takes a very particular kind of masochism to engage in this pursuit, which brings the practitioner neither glory nor income and is derided even, occasionally, by poets themselves.
April 7, 2007
Third time lucky for B.C. poet at the Griffin Awards?
by Chantal Eustace If Victoria poet Don McKay were, say, to win a certain award that he’s nominated for – hypothetically speaking, of course – he’d buy himself the most precious thing a poet could ask for: time.
April 5, 2007
Lines of beauty
The lowdown on this year’s Griffin Poetry Prize nominees
by Barbara Carey Poetry and big bucks don’t commonly go together like a fizzy cocktail and a swizzle stick – which is why the announcement of finalists for the Griffin Poetry Prize creates an annual stir.
April 4, 2007
Griffins Take Flight Past Griffin Award recipient Christian Bök once stated, “The Griffin is the poetry award that can drastically change a poet’s life.” Christian isn’t exaggerating: the $100,000 prize, shared by two winners, is one of the largest poetry awards in the world. In a 2000 speech, Scott Griffin, founder of The Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry, explained, “the poetry prize had to be of sufficient size to make a statement that declared that poets and poetry are just as important as novelists and their works.”
April 4, 2007
Griffin Prize: Lyricists duke it out over two $50,000 prizes
Thanks to benefactor's thrift, poetry won't get short shrift
by Vanessa Farquharson From an unprecedented 483 submissions, the shortlist for this year’s Griffin Poetry Prize was finally narrowed down to seven writers, six of whom happen to be men. “In previous years we’ve had more women, so I think it’s just the way the dice roll,” said Scott Griffin, founder of the prize, which is now in its seventh year and one of the world’s most lucrative. A total of $100,000 is awarded to two winners, one Canadian and one international, who split the money evenly.
April 4, 2007
McKay gets third nod
by James Adams Will it be third time lucky for Don McKay? The veteran Canadian poet was shortlisted for the third time yesterday in the Canadian division of the annual Griffin Poetry Prize, worth $50,000. McKay, 65, has won two Governor-General's Awards for English-language poetry, in 1991 and 2000 – but he has come up short-handed on the previous occasions that he has vied for Griffin honours, in 2001 and 2005. He will know if he's victorious when the winner is announced on June 6 at a gala dinner in Toronto.
April 3, 2007
Canadian Don McKay shortlisted for Griffin Poetry Prize Canadian poetry veteran Don McKay and Frederick Seidel, one of the founding editors of iconic literary magazine The Paris Review, are among the seven shortlisted poets vying for the 2007 Griffin Poetry Prize.
April 3, 2007
Griffin shortlist unveiled
by Vit Wagner Don McKay, a two-time nominee for the Griffin Poetry Prize, was again named today to the Canadian shortlist for the lucrative literary award.
April 3, 2007
Babstock, Uppal, McKay vie for Griffin
by Leigh Anne Williams Ken Babstock’s Airstream Land Yacht, Priscila Uppal’s Ontological Necessities, and Don McKay’s Strike/Slip are the nominees for this year's Griffin Poetry Prize in the $50,000 Canadian category. The Griffin unveiled its Canadian and international shortlists in Toronto today. None of the nominated poets were in attendance, but a celebratory hoot came from the House of Anansi Press contingent when Babstock’s name was announced. April 3, 2007
Frederick Seidel, Don McKay among those on Griffin Poetry Prize short lists Frederick Seidel – a protege of Ezra Pound and a founding editor of The Paris Review – is in the running for the lucrative Griffin Poetry Prize. The Canadian short list, meanwhile, includes two poets from Toronto as well as veteran wordsmith Don McKay from Victoria.  April 3, 2007
Seven vie for poetry's big prize
by Tenille Bonoguore What do you get when three Canadians, three Americans and a Brit walk into a bar?
The shortlist for the $100,000 Griffin Poetry Prize, Canada's highest-paying literary prize for arguably the least popular of the literary arts.
And it could be third time lucky for B.C. poet Don McKay, who joins Toronto-based poets, Ken Babstock and Priscila Uppal, on the shortlist for the $50,000 national prize.
November 20, 2006
Poets aplenty, but who's reading the verse?
In a market where 'skyrocketing' sales mean five books sold a week, do poetry prizes make any difference at all? Apparently, they do
by James Adams Proclamations of the death of poetry have grown more insistent and numerous over the last 25 years, but this hasn’t stopped a lot of people – too many, some would argue – from continuing to write it and, occasionally, see it published. 
July 25, 2006
CBC Radio’s And Sometimes Y
The Edge of Language Christian Bök, author of Eunoia, the experimental poetry book that won the Griffin Poetry Prize, joins host Russell Smith to explore the topic “What is language for, and how does it work?”
July 15, 2006
Experiments in language
Work by Griffin Prize winners Sylvia Legris and Kamau Brathwaite yield stellar results
by Harold Heft Literary awards can be a mixed blessing: Designed to reward excellence, they also create inflated expectations. We often hear readers say that they are “pleasantly surprised” by an obscure book and “generally disappointed” by major award winners. In Canada, no literary award is more generous or, arguably, more prestigious than the Griffin Poetry Prize. Created in 2000 by Scott Griffin, an auto parts manufacturer, the award has the admirable ambition “to raise public awareness of the crucial role poetry must play in society’s cultural life.” Each year, the Griffin Prize provides $50,000 (a fortune in the poetry milieu) to one Canadian winner and one international winner, and this international focus has succeeded in putting Canada on the world’s literary map.
June 27, 2006
A Poet’s Winning Season
Sylvia Legris's break-out book won the Griffin, and her life may never be the same
by Patricia Robertson At the beginning of this month, Sylvia Legris’s quiet poet’s life was dramatically altered when she won the coveted 2006 Griffin Poetry Prize. Three times is apparently a charm, since it was her third book of poetry, Nerve Squall (Coach House Books, 2005), that garnered top honours. Recently Legris and I shared a discreet upstairs booth at Grandma Lee’s Bakery in downtown Saskatoon. It’s her favourite haunt, she says, because it’s low-key and serves great Rice Krispy squares, but she’s a bit on edge. Since the Griffin gala on June 1, Legris has hit the poetry jackpot, been inundated with attention and been run over by a scathing critic. 
June 22, 2006
Looking outside of Canadian poetry
Phil Hall on inspiration, language and the restraints of nationalism
by Derek Beaulieu In Dawson City, Griffin-Prize nominee Phil Hall has found a community willing to challenge itself culturally, and like that small, northern city, Hall has continuously looked outside his own community for inspiration, seeking to combine the traditionally “poetic” with non-poetic subject matter. 
June 19, 2006
They Are Poets, Hear Them Roar
A ritzy prize and initiatives like ‘Poetry Out Loud’ are turning poets into rock stars
by Anne Kingston At the end of the long red carpet strewn with rose petals, Scott and Krystyne Griffin greet their guests. Four hundred people are gathering in Toronto this evening in early June for the naming of the 2006 Griffin Prize winners. This is Canada’s richest literary award - $50,000 to a Canadian poet, $50,000 to an international poet. The short list of three Canadian and four international poets has been winnowed from 444 books submitted from 20 countries.  June 7, 2006
Kamau Brathwaite Wins Griffin Prize
by Colin Rickards
Pride Contributing Writer Barbados-born poet Kamau Brathwaite won the International section of the prestigious Griffin Poetry Prize for his volume Born to Slow Horses at a gala event in the Distillery District last Thursday. He beat three other International poets – from Germany, the U.S. and Iraq – to win the world’s most valuable poetry prize. Saskatoon poet Sylvia Legris emerged victorious in a field of three to win the Canadian section. June 5, 2006
Verse attracts a full house
by Joe Fiorito We have an abiding affection for dactyls, strophes and dithyrambs and so we went to the MacMillan Theatre one night last week, to listen to the Griffin Prize poets read their work. We arrived early and it was a good thing we did, because the house was full. We found seats near the front."Where else but in Canada could you get 1,000 people out to a poetry reading," said a fellow in the row behind us to his friend. Where else, indeed? 
June 3, 2006
Prestigious Canadian poetry prizes awarded Canadian Sylvia Legris and Barbadian Kamau Brathwaite were awarded the prestigious Griffin Poetry Prize at a ceremony attended by writers and publishers from around the world. The awards, worth $45,332 (US) each to a Canadian and an international winner, are among the richest poetry prizes in the world. They were presented during an Asian-themed gala dinner Thursday night.
June 2, 2006
Saskatoon poet wins Griffin Prize
by James Adams A three-member international jury awarded Sylvia Legris the $50,000 Canadian part of the Griffin Poetry Prize at a ceremony last night in Toronto's Distillery Historic District. The Saskatoon poet took the cash for a collection titled Nerve Squall, her third book of poetry and one of three books short-listed for the prize. Winning the $50,000 international prize was Barbadian poet Kamau Brathwaite for his book, Born to Slow Horses.
June 2, 2006
CBC.ca Words at Large
2006 Griffin Poetry Prize Sylvia Legris and Kamau Brathwaite are the Canadian and international winners of the 6th annual Griffin Poetry Prize. Eleanor Wachtel speaks to the winners of the 2006 Griffin Poetry Prize immediately following the awards ceremony. Canadian winner Sylvia Legris of Saskatchewan and international winner Kamau Brathwaite from Barbados talk about what winning this prestigious prize means to them.
June 2, 2006
Prize earns a poem as two Griffins given
by Judy Stoffman Wearing an African tunic and a knitted cap, Kamau Brathwaite recited one of his hypnotic poems as he accepted the $50,000 Griffin Prize last night at a sumptuous dinner at the Stone Distillery … Brathwaite was honoured for his book Born to Slow Horses, published by Wesleyan University Press. Canadian winner was Sylvia Legris of Saskatoon, who also took home $50,000.The double Griffin Prize, founded six years ago by the auto parts entrepreneur, is the world's most generous poetry award.
June 2, 2006
Legris takes home Griffin Sylvia Legris' Nerve Squall (Coach House Books) took home the award for Canadian poetry at the Griffin Poetry Prize ceremony in Toronto last night. The collection, Legris' third, was as widely acclaimed upon its publication, and it is also up for the Pat Lowther Memorial Award, to be handed out in Ottawa on June 10. It was not only Legris' first Griffin win, but her first nomination as well. June 1, 2006
Brathwaite, Legris win Griffin Poetry Prizes
by Brett Popplewell Canadian Sylvia Legris and Barbadian Kamau Brathwaite were awarded the prestigious Griffin Poetry Prizes Thursday at a glitzy Toronto ceremony. The awards, worth $50,000 to a Canadian and an international recipient, are among the richest poetry prizes in the world. They were presented during a gala dinner in the city's historic distillery district. A nervous Legris, who said she took the train from Saskatchewan to attend the colourful awards ceremony, thanked the jury and other poets for the honour. “It's remarkable just being in your company and meeting all of you,” she said. “This is terrifying, but it's such an honour.”
June 1, 2006
A Berkeley Renaissance man
Who's Robin Blaser? If you are interested in poetry - not just in Canada but in North America - you should know this Griffin honoree, writes Canada's first poet laureate, George Bowering For four decades, Robin Blaser has been one of the most influential poets in the North American world, but he does not possess a household name. Most professors of Canadian literature do not teach his work and probably have not read it either. Yet he is a member of the Order of Canada. He collaborated with the eminent British composer Sir Harrison Birtwistle on the opera The Last Supper, which was commissioned by the Staatsoper of Berlin and Glyndebourne Opera in 2000. His book of collected poems, The Holy Forest, was edited by Stan Persky and Michael Ondaatje, introduced by Robert Creeley, and published by Coach House Press in 1993. It is 400 pages long, and it is not light reading. But last night at Toronto's MacMillan Theatre, Blaser was presented with a special Life Time Recognition Award given by the trustees of the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry.
May 30, 2006
CBC.ca Words at Large
2006 Griffin Poetry Prize On June 1, the Griffin Poetry Prize will be awarded to two poets whose works, including translations, were published in English last year. (Includes link to audio clip of Scott Griffin interview with Shelagh Rogers on This Morning, September 7, 2000.) May 27, 2006
Catching a Rhyming Star
by Kenneth Sherman Baudelaire said that he could imagine a person going without food for two days, but not without poetry. And yet, many go without. Poetry’s partisans contend that the public is simply unaware. Offer people poetry and they will take to it. There are encouraging signs. American poet Billy Collins, a writer of accessible and intelligently entertaining poetry, reportedly earns a living from royalties and readings. Camille Paglia’s Break, Blow, Burn, a lucid explication of 43 traditional and modern poems, has been a brisk seller since its publication last year. In Canada, the Griffin Poetry Prize has done much to advance the cause. Named for Scott Griffin, their generous patron, the annual awards go to the two best books of poetry, including translations, published in English in the previous year. One book is chosen from a Canadian, the other from an international shortlist. The inclusion of translations has enlivened the proceedings with such foreign-language heavyweights as Yehuda Amichai (Hebrew) and Paul Celan (German). Regrettably, since the Griffin’s inception in 2001, no translated Québécois poet has been nominated for the Canadian award. This is not the fault of the adjudicators. The volumes of French Canadian poetry translated into English in the past five years can be counted on one hand. (I hope someone from the Canada Council is reading this.) 
May 1, 2006
The Griffin Poetry Prize 2006 Shortlists
by Nathaniel G. Moore The Danforth Review summarizes the Griffin Poetry Prize 2006 shortlists, along with reactions from the Canadian publishers whose volumes were nominated. April 7, 2006
Prize Fighters
Sizing up the Griffin Poetry Prize finalists
by Barbara Carey Cash and cachet go together when it comes to literary awards, so it’s no surprise that the Griffin Poetry Prize, which announced the 2006 finalists April 5, is a big deal. The annual prize splits $100,000 between a Canadian winner and an international one, making it the richest haul for a single volume of poetry in the world. It’s also hotly contested: this year’s judges read 441 books, from 15 countries (including translations from 20 languages), in just three months. (On top of their honorarium, they deserve a medal for valour.) April 6, 2006
Diverse poets vie for Griffin
by Judy Stoffman A book of poems originally written in Arabic by a refugee from Saddam's Iraq is in the running for the world's richest poetry prize. Elizabeth Winslow's English translation of The War Works Hard, by Dunya Mikhail, is one of four books on the international short list of the Griffin poetry prize, announced yesterday April 6, 2006
Lucrative awards put poetry in motion
Griffin prize lists nominees for two $50,000 purses Although many writers and editors will argue that poetry doesn't sell, Michael Ondaatje, Margaret Atwood and the rest of the trustees behind Canada's Griffin Poetry Prize are out to challenge this belief. And there's no better time to get the ball rolling than in April, which is poetry month. April 6, 2006
Awards: Peabody, IMPAC, Griffin and Trillium
by Michael Posner Three Canadians and four international poets will vie for 2006 Griffin Poetry Prizes. The two short lists – drawn from some 441 submissions from 15 countries – were announced yesterday in Toronto by Scott Griffin, founder of the Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry, and David Young, trustee. April 5, 2006
Moure, Hall, Legris up for 2006 Griffin From a record number of submissions, the jury for the Griffin Poetry Prize has narrowed this year’s competition for the Canadian prize to three books by mid-career poets. On the international side, the four-title shortlist spans the globe, including books by authors from the U.S., Germany, Barbados, and Iraq. April 5, 2006
Poets from Saskatoon, Montreal make short list for $100,000 Griffin prize Poets from Saskatoon, Montreal and Toronto are in the running for this year's Griffin Poetry Prize. The prize, created six years ago by Toronto businessman Scott Griffin along with trustees who include Margaret Atwood and Michael Ondaatje, awards $50,000 to the best book of Canadian poetry and $50,000 to the best book of international poetry. April 5, 2006
Griffin Poetry Prize nominates poets from Saskatoon to San Francisco Poets from Saskatoon, San Francisco and London are among those nominated for one of the world's most prestigious poetry awards, the Griffin Poetry Trust announced Wednesday. April 5, 2006
Short list unveiled for Griffin Poetry Prize Seven poets are being considered for the 2006 Griffin Poetry Prize, selected from a record number of entries from around the world – proof the fledgling award is gaining an international reputation … “It’s like tasting food you’ve never had before,” [trustee David Young] said. “You realize that this is somebody’s world. These are all really great poets. The fact that you haven’t even heard of some of them is pretty exciting. It tells you that the world of poetry is big and rich and broad.”
 August 2, 2005
In Addition to His Pugnacity and Charm, He Can Write Poetry
by Timothy Williams On a gray and rainy day recently, the poet August Kleinzahler was eating a hot dog and greasy fries at a hot dog shop in Fort Lee, N.J., called Hiram’s, a gruff, no-frills place that Mr. Kleinzahler says is about as close to the literary establishment across the river in Manhattan as he cares to be. But Mr. Kleinzahler, 55, noted both for poems that jarringly marry the high and the low and for keeping his distance from the New York illuminati, has found himself late in his career in a rather awkward spot: the cusp of respectability in the cliquish world of poetry. June 19, 2005
Review of Short Journey Upriver Toward Oishida, by Roo Borson
by J. Mark Smith One of the finer things in Roo Borson’s Griffin Prize winning book is “Persimmons,” a prose narrative about the fruit of the trees she associates with her mother’s garden, with a Japanese man who was her mother’s gardener, with her own adolescence, and with her mother’s death … I quote these sentences as an exhibit to begin with, because Short Journey Upriver stands or falls as a collection of poetry on the twenty pages of much more challenging free verse that make up its first section, “Summer Grass.” June 6, 2005
Relishing poetry with lots of mustard
by Joe Fiorito The Griffin Poetry Prizes have been awarded for another year. Scott Griffin earned his fortune making shock absorbers; $50,000 is a shocking amount for any writer, let alone a poet, to absorb. June 3, 2005
Roo Borson wins Griffin Poetry Prize Veteran poets Roo Borson and Charles Simic are the newest winners of the $100,000 Griffin Poetry Prize, the world’s richest prize for a single volume of poetry. June 3, 2005
Roo Borson wins Griffin Poetry Prize
by Guy Dixon Roo Borson, the Toronto-based writer known for her contemplative works that search for identity along many splintered paths, was the winning Canadian poet in this year's Griffin Poetry Prize, receiving $50,000 for her book Short Journey Up River Towards Oishida.
June 3, 2005
Toronto, U.S. poets win Griffin honours
by Judy Stoffman Charles Simic from New Hampshire won the international award and Toronto’s Roo Borson was the Canadian winner when the Griffin Prize for poetry was given out for the fifth time last night at a candlelit banquet in the Distillery. Founder Scott Griffin this year increased the value of the twin awards by $10,000 to $50,000 each, making them the most generous literary awards in English Canada, and for poetry anywhere. He also foots the bill to take the winners to several international literary festivals. June 2, 2005
Roo Borson wins Griffin Poetry Prize for Short Journey Upriver Toward Oishida
by Anne-Marie Tobin, Canadian Press Roo Borson has won the $50,000 Griffin Poetry Prize awarded to a Canadian, while Charles Simic of New Hampshire collected an equivalent amount for the international portion of the prestigious award Thursday night. Cheques were handed out at a dinner bash in the historic distillery district attended by hundreds of guests, including Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson, founder Scott Griffin and writer Margaret Atwood.  May 26, 2005
Simply Simic
by Emily Schultz Poet Charles Simic speaks with care. It’s not hesitation in his voice, but pacing, almost as if his sentences have line breaks already built into them. While this is enhanced by his Eastern European accent, lingering after 50-plus years in North America, speaking from his home in New Hampshire, it’s his thoughtfulness that stands out as Simic talks about what it means to live and write from the time of the Beats to the current day. A previous winner of the Pulitzer Prize as well as many fellowships, Simic is now one of four finalists for the $50,000 international Griffin Poetry Prize. His book, Selected Poems: 19632003, was chosen from a pool of 433 entries submitted from 17 different countries. With the hope of fostering an international poetry community, Toronto’s Scott Griffin founded the Griffin Awards in 2000, backed by a foundation including poetry heavyweights Margaret Atwood and Michael Ondaatje.
April 19, 2005
Beer and poetry – so Canadian
by Simon Houpt A gaggle of Canadian poets will hoist books and beers in New York this week at three events to help publicize a landmark achievement: the first publication in recent memory of a Canadian poetry anthology in the United States … Griffin Poetry Prize founder Scott Griffin will be on hand to present 755 volumes of Canadian poetry to bolster the 45,000-title library at Poet’s House. The donation, organized by a staffer at the local consulate, came from more than 30 publishers including Coach House Press, House of Anansi, Key Porter, McClelland & Stewart, Broken Jaw, Porcupine’s Quill and Brick Books. Ekstasis Editions and Turnstone Press each donated more than 100 volumes. 
April 14, 2005
Poetry: a career with a future
by Pieta Woolley The judges for one of the planet’s richest literary prizes agree: British Columbia makes great poets. All three of the Canadian poets on the shortlist for the 2005 Griffin Poetry Prize have a local connection. April 7, 2005
Short list revealed for Griffin Poetry Prize “Poetry had tended to slip out of the mainstream of our cultural lives. Poets were not only at the back of the bus, I’m not even sure they were even on the bus,” founder Scott Griffin told CBC News at Wednesday evening’s announcement, which unveiled the short list as well as the new prize amount [$100,000], increased from the previous $80,000. When establishing the prize in 2000, with the help of trustees such as Margaret Atwood and Michael Ondaatje, the Toronto businessman wanted to promote, celebrate and encourage the writing of poetry worldwide. April 7, 2005
Three Canadians on shortlist for annual Griffin poetry prize
Canadian Press Three Canadians are among seven poets to make the short list for this year’s Griffin Poetry Prize, it was announced Wednesday by the prize’s trustees. A record-breaking 433 books from 17 countries were submitted for the prize, awarded for the two best books of poetry, including translations, published in English the previous year. Each winning poet receives $50,000.
Previous Griffin Poetry Prize coverage, including launch | 
