The 2024 Griffin Poetry Prize Shortlist Has Been Set

Today, the Griffin Poetry Prize announced its 2024 shortlist. With the previous international and Canadian awards combined into one, the Griffin Prize has become the biggest poetry award in the world, monetarily, with the winner taking home $130,000.

The judges for the 2024 edition of the prize were Albert F. Moritz (Canada), Jan Wagner (Germany), and Anne Waldman (USA). They read 592 books of poetry, including 49 translations from 22 languages, submitted by 235 publishers from 14 different countries.

In this second year since the prize underwent major changes, the jury has made their decision on the shortlisted poets, and they are as follows:

The 2024 Griffin Poetry Prize Shortlist:

A Crash Course in Molotov Cocktails - Amelia M. Glaser, USA and Yuliya Ilchuk, Ukraine, translated from the Ukrainian, written by Halyna Kruk, Ukraine (Arrowsmith Press)

To 2040 - Jorie Graham, USA (Copper Canyon Press)

School of Instructions - Ishion Hutchinson, Jamaica (Faber & Faber, and Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

Door - Ann Lauterbach, USA, (Penguin Books)

Self-Portrait in the Zone of Silence - George McWhirter, Northern Ireland/Canada, translated from the Spanish, written by Homero Aridjis, Mexico (New Directions Publishing)

Translator and poet George McWhirter was only Canadian remaining on the shortlist, for his translation work on Homero Aridjis' collection.

The jury also honoured Don McKay (Canada) as the 2024 Lifetime Recognition Award recipient. McKay has published 14 poetry collections. His most recent, Lurch, was published in 2021. McKay is a three time nominee for the Griffin Prize, and won the prize in 2007 for Strike/Slip. He twice won the Governor General’s Award for poetry.

The winner will be announced at the Griffin Poetry Prize Readings to be held at Koerner Hall in Toronto on Wednesday, June 5, and will be awarded $130,000. The other shortlisted finalists will each receive $10,000.

Tickets for the 2024 Griffin Poetry Prize Readings are now on sale and can be purchased at the box office of Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor Street West or online.