We’re not just translating a poem into our own language; we are translating our own language into another poem. We’re making something new in English because of a poem of Adonis, or Yves Bonnefoy, or Hans Magnus Enzensberger.
Carolyn Forché, Griffin Trustee
In this film from 2012, Griffin trustees and trustees emeriti Margaret Atwood, Carolyn Forché, Michael Ondaatje, and Robin Robertson reflect on the first twelve years of the prize (2000–2012). The film includes moving readings by past Griffin Poetry Prize winners Anne Carson (2001), Kamau Braithwaite (2006), Charles Wright (2007), and Lifetime Recognition Award recipients, Adrienne Rich (2010) and Tomas Tranströmer (2007).
Ten years later, on September 8, 2022, the Griffin Poetry Prize announced its largest award to date, combining the existing International and Canadian prizes into one major prize of C$130,000 (c.£85,000) (c.US$100,000) (c.€99,000), making it the world’s largest international prize for a single book of poetry written in, or translated into English. Read more here.
