Every year, the Griffin Poetry Prize judges compile a shortlist of up to seven outstanding books of poetry, four International and three Canadian. From the shortlist, the judges select the final winners in the International and Canadian categories. Shortlisted Canadian books are eligible for both prizes.
Learn more about the diverse and eclectic range of poets who have made up the Griffin Poetry Prize shortlists since 2001. Check out the most recent shortlist here.
Each year’s winners are shown in bold.
- 2020
- Abigail Chabitnoy, How to Dress a Fish
- Sharon Olds, Arias
- Sarah Riggs, translation of Time from the French written by Etel Adnan
- Natalie Scenters-Zapico, Lima :: Limón
- 2019
- Raymond Antrobus, The Perseverance
- Daniel Borzutzky, Lake Michigan
- Don Mee Choi, translation of Autobiography of Death from the Korean written by Kim Hyesoon
- Ani Gjika, translation of Negative Space from the Albanian written by Luljeta Lleshanaku
- 2018
- Billy-Ray Belcourt, This Wound is a World
- Aisha Sasha John, I have to live.
- Donato Mancini, Same Diff
- Tongo Eisen-Martin, Heaven is All Goodbyes
- Susan Howe, Debths
- Layli Long Soldier, Whereas
- Natalie Shapero, Hard Child
- 2017
- Jane Mead, World of Made and Unmade
- Donald Nicholson-Smith, translation of In Praise of Defeat from the French written by Abdellatif Laabi
- Alice Oswald, Falling Awake
- Denise Riley, Say Something Back
- 2016
- Per Brask and Patrick Friesen, translation of Frayed Opus for Strings & Wind Instruments from the Danish written by Ulrikka S. Gernes
- Liz Howard, Infinite Citizen of the Shaking Tent
- Soraya Peerbaye, Tell: poems for a girlhood
- Norman Dubie, The Quotations of Bone
- Joy Harjo, Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings
- Don Paterson, 40 Sonnets
- Rowan Ricardo Phillips, Heaven
- 2015
- Eleanor Goodman, translation of Something Crosses My Mind from the Chinese written by Wang Xiaoni
- Marek Kazmierski, translation of Finite Formulae & Theories of Chance from the Polish written by Wioletta Greg
- Michael Longley, The Stairwell
- Spencer Reece, The Road to Emmaus
- 2014
- Rachael Boast, Pilgrim’s Flower
- Brenda Hillman, Seasonal Works with Letters on Fire
- Carl Phillips, Silverchest
- Mira Rosenthal, translation of Colonies from the Polish written by Tomasz Rozycki
- 2013
- Fady Joudah, translation of The Straw Bird It Follows Me, and Other Poems from the Arabic written by Ghassan Zaqtan
- Jennifer Maiden, Liquid Nitrogen
- Alan Shapiro, Night of the Republic
- Brenda Shaughnessy, Our Andromeda
- 2012
- David Harsent, Night
- Yusef Komunyakaa, The Chameleon Couch
- Sean O’Brien, November
- Joanna Trzeciak, translation from Polish of Sobbing Superpower: Selected Poems of Tadeusz Rózewicz
- 2011
- Seamus Heaney, Human Chain
- Khaled Mattawa, translation of Adonis: Selected Poems from the Arabic written by Adonis
- Philip Mosley, translation of The Book of the Snow from the French written by Francois Jacqmin
- Gjertrud Schnackenberg, Heavenly Questions
- 2010
- John Glenday, Grain
- Louise Gluck, A Village Life
- Eilean Ni Chuilleanain, The Sun-fish
- Susan Wicks, translation of Cold Spring in Winter from the French written by Valérie Rouzeau
- 2009
- Mick Imlah, The Lost Leader
- Derek Mahon, Life on Earth
- C.D. Wright, Rising, Falling, Hovering
- Dean Young, Primitive Mentor
- 2008
- Robin Blaser, The Holy Forest: Collected Poems of Robin Blaser
- Robert Majzels and Erin Moure, translation of Notebook of Roses and Civilization from the French written by Nicole Brossard
- David McFadden, Why Are You So Sad? Selected Poems of David W. McFadden
- John Ashbery, Notes from the Air: Selected Later Poems
- Elaine Equi, Ripple Effect: New and Selected Poems
- Clayton Eshleman, translation of The Complete Poetry: A Bilingual Edition from the Spanish written by Cesar Vallejo
- David Harsent, Selected Poems 1969-2005
- 2007
- Paul Farley, Tramp in Flames
- Rodney Jones, Salvation Blues
- Frederick Seidel, Ooga-Booga
- Charles Wright, Scar Tissue
- 2006
- Kamau Brathwaite, Born to Slow Horses
- Michael Hofmann, translation of Ashes for Breakfast: Selected Poems from the German written by Durs Grünbein
- Michael Palmer, Company of Moths
- Elizabeth Winslow, translation of The War Works Hard by Dunya Mikhail
- 2005
- Roo Borson, Short Journey Upriver Toward Oishida
- George Bowering, Changing on the Fly
- Don McKay, Camber
- Fanny Howe, On the Ground
- Michael Symmons Roberts, Corpus
- Matthew Rohrer, A Green Light
- Charles Simic, Selected Poems: 1963-2003
- 2004
- August Kleinzahler, The Strange Hours Travelers Keep
- Suji Kwock Kim, Notes From the Divided Country
- David Kirby, The Ha-Ha
- Louis Simpson, The Owner of the House
- 2003
- Margaret Avison, Concrete and Wild Carrot
- Dionne Brand, thirsty
- P.K. Page, Planet Earth: Poems Selected and New
- Kathleen Jamie, Mr And Mrs Scotland are Dead: Poems 1980-1994
- Paul Muldoon, Moy Sand and Gravel
- Gerald Stern, American Sonnets: poems
- C.D. Wright, Steal Away: selected and new poems
- 2002
- Victor Hernández Cruz, Maraca
- Christopher Logue, Homer: War Music
- Les Murray, Conscious and Verbal
- Alice Notley, Disobedience
- 2001
- Robert Bringhurst, Nine Visits to the Mythworld
- Anne Carson, Men in the Off Hours
- Don McKay, Another Gravity
- Chana Bloch and Chana Kronfeld, translation of Open Closed Open from the Hebrew written by Yehuda Amichai
- Fanny Howe, Selected Poems
- Les Murray, Learning Human
- Nikolai Popov and Heather McHugh, translation of Glottal Stop: 101 Poems from the German written by Paul Celan
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