No Canadian finalists make Griffin Poetry Prize short list for first time

By Canadian Press on April 23, 2025.

TORONTO — No Canadians are in the running for the Griffin Poetry Prize for the first time in the literary award’s 25-year history.

The short list announced today consists of five collections written by American, European and Cuban poets and translators, meaning there’s no chance of a homegrown winner for the $130,000 prize.

The Griffin was originally separated into categories — one for Canadian talent and another for international contenders — but in 2023 the organization merged the two awards into a single prize open to all poets.

This year, two American poets are competing with their collections: Carl Phillips for “Scattered Snows, to the North,” and Diane Seuss with “Modern Poetry.”

The other three collections nominated are translations, including “The Great Zoo,” translated by American poet Aaron Coleman from Cuban writer Nicolas Guillen’s original Spanish.

There’s also “Kiss the Eyes of Peace,” translated by Brian Henry, who is from the United States, from the original Slovenian by Tomaž Šalamun; and British poet Karen Leeder’s translation of Durs Grünbein’s collection “Psyche Running,” which was originally written in German.

If a translated collection wins, the translator will receive 60 per cent of the prize money, while the original poet receives 40 per cent.

The winner will be announced at the Griffin Poetry Prize Readings at Koerner Hall in Toronto on June 4.

The Griffin was met with some criticism when prize benefactor Scott Griffin announced in 2022 that he would combine the two categories, but he defended the decision by saying Canadian poets could compete on a global stage.

Two Canadians were shortlisted in 2023, and British Columbia-based translator George McWhirter took home last year’s award with Mexican poet Homero Aridjis for the translated collection “Self-Portrait in the Zone of Silence.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 23, 2025.

Cassidy McMackon, The Canadian Press

14
-13