Latest news with #GriffinPoetryPrize
Globe and Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
Margaret Atwood receives lifetime Griffin Poetry Prize
In accepting her Lifetime Recognition Award at the Griffin Poetry Prize gala at Toronto's Koerner Hall on Wednesday night, Margaret Atwood read a pair of her poems while sitting in a chair. There were slight issues. The 85-year-old poet-novelist said that due to cataracts she would need to hold the pages near her face. She also had to clutch a microphone, which was, she said, 'just slightly awkward.' Griffin trustee and U.S. poet Carolyn Forché, the longtime friend who interviewed Atwood on stage, offered to hold the mic. Atwood declined the offer because, she explained, 'It would involve you kneeling at my feet.' The audience laughed at the notion, of course. But, then, Canada's most illustrious writer − a literary goddess, couplet queen and dystopic-novel superstar − was being honoured for a lifetime of achievement. Kneeling at her feet? If the metaphor fits. Atwood had stepped on stage, carrying sheets of paper and her purse, to a standing ovation. After the presentation, Forché and Atwood walked off, the former raising the latter's hand as she were a boxer who had just won a fight. Hadn't she though? Atwood was one of the founding trustees of the Griffin Poetry Prize, which was created in 2000 to help revitalize an art form thought to be dying. Karen Leeder's English translation of Durs Grünbein's Psyche Running wins Griffin Poetry Prize Margaret Atwood memoir to explore seminal moments, inspiration behind famous books 'Margaret Atwood is first and foremost a poet,' namesake prize founder Scott Griffin asserted at the end of night. Fans of The Handmaid's Tale, Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin, Oryx and Crake might disagree with that assessment, but it is true that Atwood published five books of poetry before her 1969 debut novel, The Edible Woman, ever saw the light of day. Besides, Canadian businessman and philanthropist Griffin was paying for the room, the open bar and the $25,000 attached to the lifetime recognition. What he says carries weight and all those trays of wine. His biggest cheque went to Karen Leeder and Durs Grünbein, winners of the night's main-event award, the 2025 Griffin Poetry Prize, for Psyche Running: Selected Poems, 2005-2022. The international prize is worth $130,000. Sixty per cent of the money goes to British writer and scholar of German culture Leeder, who translated the poems of German poet and essayist Durs Grünbein into English. Grünbein receives 40 per cent of the prize. 'Do you want to say a few words, or do you just want to take the money and run?' Griffin joked to the winners. Leeder stood up for translators − the unseen 'bees' of the literary world − and praised Grünbein as a poet who is 'generous with his comments but then leaves me alone to do it, which is what every translator wants.' In his own acceptance speech, Grünbein said the pin on his lapel was not only in recognition of Ukraine's existential fight with Russia: 'This is now a war on Europe.' He expressed hope that poems supported ideas of democracy and humanity, saying, 'That is why I am writing poetry.' About Atwood's earlier reading of her poem How to Tell One Country From Another, he noted that the lines focused on boundaries and 'very important historical, political things.' Atwood had spoken about her fascination with the rise and fall of dictators, a result of her being born in 1939. 'Which is also the reason why I could never be a pacifist,' she said, 'and also the reason I feel countries that have been invaded have a right to defend themselves.' Asked by her American interviewer, 'How are we going to get through all this?' Atwood said it was not too late for the United States: 'It remains to be seen how this is going to play out, but cracks are already appearing in the Republican Party's unified wall.' Atwood is the 17th poet (and fourth Canadian) to earn the Griffin career achievement honour. She is the first recipient among the original board of trustees (which also included Robert Hass, Michael Ondaatje, Robin Robertson and David Young). Her most recent book of poetry is Paper Boat: New and Selected Poems: 1961–2023, published last year. Her much-anticipated memoir, Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts, is due Nov. 4. After Atwood's presentation, Griffin jury member Anne Michaels spoke with Whitehorse poet Dawn Macdonald, this year's Canadian First Book Prize winner for Northerny, published by University of Alberta Press. 'You know,' Macdonald said, 'Margaret Atwood is a bit of a tough act to follow.'
Scroll.in
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
Seagull Books publication ‘Psyche Running' wins Griffin Poetry Prize for Durs Grünbein, Karen Leeder
Psyche Running, translated by Karen Leeder and written in German by Durs Grünbein, is the winner of the 2025 Griffin Poetry Prize. The prize-winning volume of poetry has been published by Seagull Books of India. The cash prize of C$130,000 will be divided between Leeder and Grünbein, with 60 per cent going to the translator and 40 per cent to the author. Each of the other finalists received C$10,000. The judges said, 'Durs Grünbein's Psyche Running is a brilliant overview and selection of a poet who satisfies our hunger to be serious, as again and again he finds himself 'between words and things.' Karen Leeder's adept translations establish a new version of Grünbein in English: universal, lyrical, philosophical.' Karen Leeder is a writer, scholar, and translator of contemporary German literature. She is the Schwarz-Taylor Chair of the German Language and Literature at the University of Oxford. In 2023, she began a three-year Einstein Fellowship at the Free University of Berlin for her project AfterWords. Durs Grünbein was born in Dresden in 1962 and now lives in Berlin and Rome. Since 2005, he has been a professor of poetics and aesthetics at the Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf. Upon receiving the Prize, Leeder said, 'It is such an honour to be the recipient of this very special prize. We are so grateful to Seagull Books for backing us. What a privilege to bring this amazing poet into English.' Grünbein added, 'Everybody is now talking about this famous publishing house in Kolkata and the publisher behind all the books: You, Naveen [Kishore, publisher], only you. Thank you for believing in me from the beginning.' The international Griffin Poetry Prize was founded in 2000 to recognise excellence in poetry. The prize is for first edition books of poetry written in, or translated into, English and submitted from anywhere in the world. Judges Nick Laird, Anne Michaels, and Tomasz Różycki read 578 books of poetry, including 47 translations from 20 languages, submitted by 219 publishers from 17 different countries. The other books on the shortlist were: The Great Zoo, translated by Aaron Coleman from the Spanish, written by Nicolás Guillén Kiss the Eyes of Peace, translated by Brian Henry from the Slovenian, written by Tomaž Šalamun Scattered Snows, to the North, Carl Phillips Modern Poetry, Diane Seuss
Hamilton Spectator
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
British translator Karen Leeder and German writer Durs Grünbein win Griffin Poetry Prize
TORONTO - British scholar Karen Leeder's translation of 'Psyche Running' by Durs Grünbein has won the Griffin Poetry Prize. They were awarded the $130,000 literary prize at a ceremony in Toronto. Leeder is a professor of German language and literature at Oxford University, and the Griffin judges praise her translation as being 'universal, lyrical, philosophical.' This is the second time a translation of work by Grünbein, who lives in Berlin, has been shortlisted for the Griffin. 'Ashes for Breakfast: Selected Poems,' translated by Michael Hoffmann, was a finalist for the International Griffin Poetry Prize in 2006, before the Canadian and global prizes were combined. Margaret Atwood also received the $25,000 Lifetime Recognition Award at the poetry reading and ceremony. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025.
Hamilton Spectator
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
CP NewsAlert: British translator Karen Leeder and German writer Durs Grünbein win Griffin Poetry Prize
TORONTO - British scholar Karen Leeder's translation of 'Psyche Running' by Durs Grünbein has won the $130,000 Griffin Poetry Prize. More coming
Globe and Mail
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
Karen Leeder's English translation of Durs Grünbein's Psyche Running wins Griffin Poetry Prize
Karen Leeder's translation of Psyche Running: Selected Poems, 2005-2022, by German poet and essayist Durs Grünbein, took the lucrative Griffin Poetry Prize at a Toronto gala on Wednesday evening. The international prize, founded in 2000 by Canadian businessman Scott Griffin, is worth $130,000. In the case of translated works, 60 per cent goes to the translator; 40 per cent, to the original author. Published by Seagull Books, Psyche Running covers the development of Mr. Grünbein's poems over the past two decades. The Griffin Poetry Prize judges cited the book as a 'brilliant overview and selection of a poet who satisfies our hunger to be serious.' The judges cited Ms. Leeder's translations from German to English as 'universal, lyrical, philosophical.' She is a British writer, translator and scholar of German culture who has previously won awards for her translations of Mr. Grünbein's work. Born in Dresden in 1962, Mr. Grünbein is considered the most significant and successful poet of his generation in Germany. Michael Hofmann's Ashes for Breakfast, which sampled poetry from the German's first four collections, brought the author into English for the first time in 2005, and was shortlisted for the Griffin in 2006. The poetry fans at Koerner Hall not only took in readings from Mr. Grünbein, Ms. Leeder and other shortlisted writers, but witnessed the presentation of the 2025 Lifetime Recognition Award (worth $25,000) to the esteemed Margaret Atwood, a Griffin Poetry Prize co-founder and trustee emeritus. Margaret Atwood to be presented with Lifetime Recognition Award by Griffin Poetry Prize trustees Griffin Poetry Prize eliminating category reserved for Canadian poets The 85-year-old author of The Handmaid's Tale published her first book of poetry in 1961. She was joined in conversation on stage with Griffin trustee and U.S. poet Carolyn Forché. This year's other shortlisted books were Modern Poetry, by Diane Seuss; The Great Zoo, translated by Aaron Coleman from the Spanish written by Nicolás Guillén; Scattered Snows, to the North, by Carl Phillips; and Kiss the Eyes of Peace, translated by Brian Henry from the Slovenian written by Tomaž Šalamun. Each of the finalists receive $10,000. When the Griffin was founded, separate prizes went to one Canadian and one international poet who writes in the English language. In 2022, the two awards were consolidated into a single international prize. This year's jury members were Northern Irish poet, novelist and critic Nick Laird, Polish poet and translator Tomasz Różycki, and Toronto poet and novelist Anne Michaels, winner of last year's Giller Prize for the novel Held. They each read 578 books of poetry, including 47 translations from 20 languages, submitted by 219 publishers from 17 different countries. Whitehorse poet Dawn Macdonald read from her Northerny, this year's Canadian First Book Prize winner. Calgary's Isabella Torres Rangel, one of the finalists for the Canada-wide student recitation competition Poetry in Voice/Les voix de la poésie, recited the poem Lake Michigan, by Daniel Borzutzky. Last year's Griffin winner was George McWhirter, the son of a shipyard worker and Vancouver's first poet laureate.
