5 books shortlisted for the $130K Griffin Poetry Prize
The annual award is the world's largest prize for a single book of poetry
Five books have been shortlisted for the 2025 Griffin Poetry Prize.
Founded in 2000 by Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist Scott Griffin, the Griffin Poetry Prize is the world's largest international prize for a single book of poetry written in, or translated into English. The winner will receive $130,000.
In the event a winning book is a translation into English, the Griffin Poetry Prize will allocate 60 per cent of the prize to the translator and 40 per cent to the original poet.
Three of the five books are translations.
The five shortlisted titles are The Great Zoo by Nicolás Guillén, translated from Spanish by Aaron Coleman, Kiss the Eyes of Peace by Tomaž Šalamun, translated from Slovenian by Brian Henry, Psyche Running by Durs Grünbein, translated from German by Karen Leeder, Scattered Snows, to the North by Carl Phillips and Modern Poetry by Diane Seuss.
There are no Canadians on this year's shortlist.
The shortlist was selected from 578 books of poetry by the jury composed of Canadian author and poet Anne Michaels and international writers Nick Laird and Tomasz Różycki.
The winner will be announced on June 4 at a gala event in Toronto. The event will also feature readings from all the finalists before the big reveal. The remaining shortlisted writers will each receive $10,000.
A $10,000 prize will also be awarded for a Canadian first book of poetry. The award is a six-week residency in Italy in partnership with the Civitella Ranieri Foundation to a Canadian citizen, or permanent resident, for a first book written in English. A $25,000 lifetime recognition award will also be awarded.
Last year's winner was Mexican poet Homero Aridjis for Self-Portrait in the Zone of Silence, translated by Vancouver's George McWhirter. St. John's writer Maggie Burton won the Canadian First Book Prize for her debut poetry collection Chores.
2023 marked the first time the Griffin Poetry Prize gave out a single award. The prize previously awarded $65,000 to two works of English-language poetry from the previous year — one Canadian and one international.
Other past Canadian winners include Tolu Oloruntoba, Billy-Ray Belcourt, Anne Carson, Roo Borson, Dionne Brand and Jordan Abel.
