The
Griffin 2006: Coach House Wins
by Nathaniel G. Moore
Toronto -- June 1, 2006 -- The most
notorious and rich poetry prize in the world is done for another year.
Yes, the high profile Griffin
Trust for Excellence in Poetry has named another two poets and books
into its legacy, after a record-setting year of 441 books submitted for
consideration.
The decorative gala was held at
Toronto's Distillery district complete with (and in no particular order)
Toronto’s literati, rugby-tough security, chocolate fountain, lush
deserts and, of course, alcohol. As the food settled in the stomachs of
the rich, the poor and the in between, the crowd was moved without
warning from their digestion to the comedic world of publishing and
poetry all thanks to the brilliant master of ceremony for the evening,
poet Simon Armitage. Armitage, who judged the prize in 2005 took the
stage and had the eclectic audience eating out of his hands with his
hilarious take on the plight of the poet in the twenty-first century.
Armitage’s eloquent and sweet soliloquy helped the evening’s
audience and short-listed poets prepare for some inevitable
disappointment, including a personal story about a poetry reading that
ended with the poet finding an autographed copy of his poetry book in a
discount bin at a local used shop, only to discover it was made out to
Mom and Dad.
Kamau Brathwaite, 75, who calls
CowPastor, Barbados and New York City home took the international prize
for Born to Slow Horses (Wesleyan University Press) and read
a long spoken-word-styled piece. It was melodic and enjoyable, perhaps
award winners in other industries will adopt this method of acceptance.
For the second time in four years, Coach
House Books took home the Canadian category with Sylvia Legris’ Nerve
Squall. Legris was astonished at the podium: "This is
terrifying, but it's such an honour," she said, charming the
audience explaining she worried she lost all her luck on the ride over
from Saskatoon. "I came here on Via Rail and cleaned up at bingo on
the train."
Of her work, the judges said "her
eye is that of the twenty-first century – zooming from satellite to
microscope – but her focus and coherence are increasingly rare in this
age. In her hands, language refracts in ways which break open etymology
to bring us more sense rather than less. Legris’ poems build like
chords from sub- to super-sonic and, even at their most rapid and
heightened point, sustain the force of poetic enquiry. There is always,
as she says, ‘something on your hook, you feel it.’"
Coach House Books senior editor Alana
Wilcox was pleased. "We're thrilled that the Griffin jury chose to
honour Nerve Squall. It's a brave, challenging book, and it's
very encouraging to see such work honoured. We couldn't be happier for
Sylvia." Since the win, the book has been scheduled to go into
another printing. Says Coach House publicist Christina Palassio,
"We've been getting more direct orders through our site, but most
orders are coming from the indies and Indigo through LitDistCo. We
haven't seen too many US, though we're in the midst of a big US
publicity push for the book that we hope will result in increased
sales."
And so it was for this correspondent, a
tight-tied, emotionally stormy, long, internationally dark poetic night
of lushy literary swinage. Until next year, when the Griffin charm
seduces another generation of hope, and invites the collective throat to
drown in the chocolate fountain, keep polishing those ghazals
Nathaniel G. Moore is
existentially sound. |
