The Griffin Poetry Prize Announces Canadian and International Shortlist for 2002

Ottawa, March 21st, 2002 – The Griffin Poetry Prize Shortlist for 2002, comprising seven books of poetry – three Canadian and four International – was announced on World Poetry Day by Scott Griffin, Chairman of The Griffin Trust. The books, published in 2001, were judged by distinguished poets, Dionne Brand (Canada), Robert Creeley (U.S.) and Michael Hofmann (U.K.).

The shortlist announcement preceded an evening of poetry reading by representatives of 15 European Union countries. The event – “Voices, Past and Present” – was held at the National Library of Canada with the support of the European Union, UNESCO, the Canada Council of Arts, the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Ottawa International Writers Festival to celebrate UNESCO’s World Poetry Day.

UNESCO’s World Poetry Day will be the beneficiary of the royalties generated from The Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology, a selection of the 2002 Shortlist, edited by Esta Spalding and published by Toronto’s House of Anansi Press Limited.

Scott Griffin, with Trustees Margaret Atwood, Robert Hass, Michael Ondaatje, Robin Robertson and David Young, launched the $80,000 Griffin Poetry Prize in September, 2000, remarked, “It’s appropriate that we are announcing the Griffin Poetry Prize shortlist on UNESCO World Poetry Day – the timing is perfect!”

The shortlisted poets will be invited to give a reading in Toronto at a Harbourfront Reading Series Special event on May 29th and the two winners – one Canadian and one International – each of whom receives C$40,000, will be announced at the second Griffin Poetry Prize awards ceremony on May 30th.

The Griffin Trust was created to serve and encourage excellence in poetry written in English anywhere in the world. Eligible collections of poetry, which includes translations, must be submitted by publishers in the calendar year of their publication. The 2002 Griffin Poetry Prize is for first edition books of poetry published in 2001.

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Note: The publishers mentioned in our release are those who submitted the books. See poets’ biographies for publishers in other countries.

Note to booksellers: Griffin Poetry Prize 2002 Shortlist bookmarks and stickers are supplied free of charge by The Griffin Trust. To access the order form, click here. Winner stickers will be available after May 30th.

Please direct other inquiries as follows:

General Inquiries: E-mail: info@griffinpoetryprize.com Ruth Smith, Manager

Press and Publicity: E-mail: press@griffinpoetryprize.com Prudence Emery, Publicity Director

Shortlist summary and bios

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Purchase 2002 Griffin Prize Anthology and shortlist books online

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