MARCH 15, 2023 — Organizers of the Griffin Poetry Prize — one of the world’s biggest international poetry prizes — have announced this year’s ten-book longlist. Among them was Egyptian poet Iman Mersal’s The Threshold, beautifully translated by Robyn Creswell.
The prize, which previously had been split into Canadian and International prizes, has now combined into one overall International Prize, with the winner or winners awarded $130,000.
This year, judges read through 602 books of poetry, including 54 translations from 20 languages.
The complete longlist:
Tasos Livaditis – Poems, Volume II ● Manolis Aligizakis, Canada, translated from the Greek written by Tasos Livaditis, Greece, Libros Libertad
The Study of Human Life ● Joshua Bennett, USA, Penguin Books
The Threshold ● Robyn Creswell, USA, translated from the Arabic written by Iman Mersal, Egypt/Canada, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
The Jaguar ● Sarah Holland-Batt, Australia, University of Queensland Press
The Hurting Kind ● Ada Limón, USA, Corsair Poetry
Exculpatory Lilies ● Susan Musgrave, Canada, McClelland & Stewart
Balladz ● Sharon Olds, USA, Alfred A. Knopf
Best Barbarian ● Roger Reeves, USA, W. W. Norton
Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head ● Warsan Shire, Somali/UK, Penguin Canada
Time Is a Mother ● Ocean Vuong, Vietnam/USA, Cape Poetry, and Penguin Press
The five shortlisted books are set to be announced on Wednesday, April 19, with the winner announced June 7.
While the winner or winners are awarded $130,000, the other shortlisted finalists each receive $10,000.
