May 21, 2020
The biggest poetry award in Canada, the Griffin Poetry Prize, announced its 2020 winners this week. Magnetic Equator, by Kaie Kellough is the winning Canadian title, while Time by Etel Adnan (Translated by Sarah Riggs) is the international winner. Literary awards shine a bright light on works that may not have received much attention otherwise—this is particularly true for poetry, which is mostly published in small print runs, by small publishers and not often reviewed in popular newspapers and magazines.
Many people don’t read poetry regularly once they finish school, but some readers have been turning back to it during the pandemic as they struggle with reading long fiction and non-fiction. Poems are different: bite-sized, but full of depth, emotion and musical language! If you’re interested in poetry and you’re not sure where to start, why not try one of the Griffin’s excellent short listed titles, listed below?
One note—we are not able to acquire all titles in digital formats. A list of other recent poetry of note available in our digital collection is also linked below.