Five finalists have been chosen from more than 2400 entries from across the country
The Grand Prize winner, announced Nov. 23, will receive a $6,000 cash prize from the Canada Council for the Arts and a writing residency
November 16, 2023 – CBC Books, CBC’s online home for literary content, together with its partner the Canada Council for the Arts, have announced the finalists for the 2023 CBC Poetry Prize.
The finalists are:
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restitution OR Nanabush speaks to the settlers by Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm (Neyaashiinigmiing, Ont.)
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Variations on Genesis by Jillian Clasky (Ottawa)
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I Can Communicate If Communication Is Another Form of Sinking by Jaclyn Desforges (Hamilton, Ont.)
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lotus flower blooming into breasts by Kyo Lee (Waterloo, Ont.)
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Sweetness | מתיקות by Anna Swanson (Guelph, Ont.)
The entries were selected from more than 2,400 submissions received from across Canada. The public can read the shortlisted texts on cbcbooks.ca. The winner of this year’s prize will be announced on Thursday, Nov. 23.
The 2023 CBC Poetry Prize jurors are Joseph A. Dandurand, Catherine Graham and Tolu Oloruntoba.
Joseph Dandurand is a poet, storyteller, and playwright. He is member of the Kwantlen First Nation and director of the Kwantlen Cultural Centre. His book of poetry, The East Side of It All, was shortlisted for the 2021 Griffin Poetry Prize. Dandurand received the 2021 BC Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence. In 2022, along with his poetry collection The Punishment, he was the winner of the Latner Writers' Trust Poetry Prize. His book for children, The Girl Who Loved the Birds is forthcoming in 2023.
Catherine Graham, an award-winning poet and novelist. Her nine books include Æther: An Out-of-Body Lyric, a finalist for the Trillium Book Award, Toronto Book Award and winner of the Fred Kerner Book Award. Published internationally, she co-hosts The Hummingbird Podcast and teaches creative writing at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies. Put Flowers Around Us and Pretend We're Dead: New and Selected Poems is her latest book. Graham lives in Toronto, where she teaches creative writing and leads the Toronto International Festival of Authors Book Club.
Tolu Oloruntoba is a writer from Nigeria who now lives in Surrey, B.C. He practiced medicine for six years, and has harboured a love for writing poetry since he was 16. His latest book of poetry, Each One a Furnace, was released in 2022. Oloruntoba's debut poetry collection The Junta of Happenstance won the 2021 Governor General's Literary Award for poetry and was the Canadian winner for the 2022 Griffin Poetry Prize. He's also the founder of the literary magazine Klorofyl.
The Grand Prize winner will receive a cash prize of $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, a writing residency and will be published on the CBC Books website. The four other finalists will each receive $1000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and will be published on CBC Books.
Visit cbcbooks.ca for the complete CBC Poetry Prize longlist or for more information on the CBC Literary Prizes.
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About CBC Books
Home to Canada Reads, Writers & Company, The Next Chapter, Canada Writes and the CBC Literary Prizes, CBC Books connects Canadians with books, encouraging a shared love of reading and writing. For book news, writing challenges, reading lists, book recommendations and more, visit cbcbooks.ca
About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster. Through our mandate to inform, enlighten and entertain, we play a central role in strengthening Canadian culture. As Canada's trusted news source, we offer a uniquely Canadian perspective on news, current affairs and world affairs. Our distinctively homegrown entertainment programming draws audiences from across the country. Deeply rooted in communities, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Indigenous languages. We also deliver content in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi and Tagalog, as well as both official languages, through Radio Canada International (RCI). We are leading the transformation to meet the needs of Canadians in a digital world.
About Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts is Canada’s public arts funder, with a mandate to "foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts."
The Council’s grants, services, initiatives, prizes, and payments contribute to the vibrancy of a creative and diverse arts and literary scene and support its presence across Canada and abroad. The Council’s investments foster greater engagement in the arts among Canadians and international audiences.
The Council’s Public Lending Right (PLR) program makes annual payments to creators whose works are held in Canadian public libraries.
For further information, contact:
Frances Bedford
CBC PR
frances.bedford@cbc.ca
416-205-7673
Diane Hargrave
DHPR Communications Inc.
dhprbks@interlog.com
416-467-9954
