Robb wins the $6,000 grand prize and two-week writing residency for her poem, Palimpsest County
CBC Books, CBC’s online home for literary content, together with its partners the Canada Council for the Arts and Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, today announced Rachel Robb of Toronto as the winner of the 2024 CBC Poetry Prize. Robb’s poem, Palimpsest County, was selected from more than 2,700 entries.
As the grand-prize winner, Robb will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, a two-week writing residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and her poem has been published on CBC Books. Robb will discuss her winning poem on Bookends with Mattea Roach. The interview will air at a later date on CBC Radio and CBC Listen.
The 2024 CBC Poetry Prize jurors Shani Mootoo, Garry Gottfriedson and Emily Austin, said this about Robb’s poem:
“Palimpsest County is a layered poem emulating place and identity. The writer's voice is descriptive, and in a sense, self revealing without being obvious. Its word choice is striking and projects a strong reflection of setting and sentiment. The poet’s gritty, folksy, unpretentious phrasing is deeply affecting and compassionate. It’s politically rooted in time, space and subject matter. This is a disarming poem about colonialism, climate change, and the deep, thorny love and concern that exists for this landscape — this contentiously governed land. We unanimously loved this poem, its voice, and its sentiment that, 'we (all of us) could do better.'”
Rachel Robb said, “I’m overwhelmed with gratitude and excitement! Writing is such a solitary pursuit so having an audience is precious to me. It all feels a bit otherworldly right now, but in the best possible way.”
The four runners-up for the 2024 CBC Poetry Prize, who will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, are: Cicely Grace of Vancouver, B.C. for There is no neutral way to say I was fourteen; Emily Yiling Ma of Burnaby, B.C. for 吃苦 (Eat the Bitterness); Eleonore Schönmaier of Ketch Harbour, N.S. for Northern Childhood and Catherine St. Denis of Victoria, B.C. for The Killer and the Harpist.
The winner of the Prix de poésie Radio-Canada 2024 was also announced: Marise Belletête for Hier elles se sont coupées pour connaître leur âge de conifère. More information is available at ICI.Radio-canada.ca/icionlit.
For more information on the CBC Literary Prizes, please visit CBCBooks.ca.
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About CBC Books
Home to Canada Reads, Bookends with Mattea Roach, The Next Chapter, 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.
About Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Founded in 1933, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is a learning organization built upon an extraordinary legacy of excellence in artistic and creative development. What started as a single course in drama has grown to become the global organization leading in arts, culture, and creativity across dozens of disciplines. From our home on Treaty 7 territory in the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to inspire everyone who attends our campus – artists, leaders, and thinkers – to unleash their creative potential and realize their unique contribution to society through cross-disciplinary learning opportunities, world-class performances, and public outreach.
For further information, contact:
Kaari Sinnaeve, CBC PR
kaari.sinnaeve@cbc.ca
