2013 Griffin Poetry Prize Shortlist Announced

“It’s really good, particularly on the Canadian side, that all the publishers are relatively small,” [Scott] Griffin [House of Anansi] said. 'I think that is good for poetry and good for publishing. It means we have a kind of grassroots rebirth springing up here.'

     Small houses 'find different poets in the weeds,' he added, 'and that’s where it happens.' With $130,000 in prize money at stake, divided equally between a Canadian and an international winner, the Griffin Prize is one of the richest in poetry. And it is fast becoming one of the most international, according to Griffin.[…]
     Personals by Brampton, Ont., poet Ian Williams [one of the nominees] inspired an appropriately poetic response in juror Wang Ping. 'His words sing like brooks and streams through a virgin forest, laugh like waterfalls, startle and delight along the way with hidden eddies and boils,' she wrote, adding 'I can’t help but dance like a happy puppet in the masterful hands.'"
— John Barber, The Globe and Mail
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Buy Personals by Ian Williams and books by all of the the other nominees here...