Are the changes to the Griffin Poetry Prize hurting Canadian poets?

The Griffin Poetry Prize is one of Canada's most prestigious prizes for national and international poetry. 

Canadian writers who have won this award include Anne Carson, Dionne Brand and Billy-Ray Belcourt.

However, back in 2022, the Griffin Poetry Prize announced a big structural change. Instead of awarding two prizes — $65,000 for a Canadian poet and $65,000 for an international poet — The Griffin folded them into one massive $130,000 prize. 

To unpack how this change might negatively affect the visibility of Canadian poets on the international literary stage, poet and academic Paul Vermeersch joins host Elamin Abdelmahmoud on Commotion.

For the full discussion, listen and follow the Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud podcast on your favourite podcast player.

2 Canadian translators make longlist for $130K Griffin Poetry Prize

George McWhirter is recognized for Self-Portrait in the Zone of Silence, which was translated from Spanish, and written by Mexican poet Homero Aridjis. Emilie Moorhouse is honoured for Emerald Wounds: Selected Poems of Joyce Mansour, which was translated from French, and written by Egyptian-French writer Joyce Mansour. 

Read more about The Griffin Poetry Prize longlist!

LISTEN | Today's episode on YouTube:

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Correction: In the interview, the host Elamin Abdelmahmoud says in 2023 there was only one Canadian on the longlist. That is incorrect. There were in fact three Canadians: two writers and one translator.

Interview produced by Ty Callender