We are thrilled to announce the 2016 Poetry Awards shortlists for the Gerald Lampert and Pat Lowther Memorial Awards, the Raymond Souster Award and, together with the Calgary Spoken Word Society, the 2016 recipient of the prestigious Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award. The winners of these awards will be announced on Saturday, June 18 at a special awards luncheon at the Canadian Writers’ Summit. Visit poets.ca/conference for more details! Throughout April, visit our Community page to find interviews with and more information about all the shortlisted authors.

GERALD LAMPERT MEMORIAL AWARD 2016 SHORTLIST

Rue by Melissa Bull (Anvil Press) | Laws & Locks by Chad Campbell (Véhicule Press)

Transmitter and Receiver by Raoul Fernandes (Nightwood Editions) | Otter by Ben Ladouceur (Coach House Books)

Hacker Packer by Cassidy McFadzean (McClelland & Stewart) | Mockingbird by Derek Webster (Véhicule Press)

2016 Jurors: Jim Johnstone, Micheline Maylor, Dwayne Morgan

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD A PDF OF SHORTLIST DETAILS, INCLUDING JUDGES’ COMMENTS

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PAT LOWTHER MEMORIAL AWARD 2016 SHORTLIST

The Wrong Cat by Lorna Crozier (McClelland & Stewart) | calling down the sky by Rosanna Deerchild (Bookland Press)

Terra Incognita by Adebe DeRango-Adem (INNANA Publications and Education Inc.) | The Poison Colour by Maureen Hynes (Pedlar Press)

Marry & Burn by Rachel Rose (Harbour Publishing) | Trio by Sarah Tolmie (McGill-Queen’s University Press)

 

2016 Jurors: Judith Neale, Vanessa Shields, Joan Shillington

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD A PDF OF SHORTLIST DETAILS, INCLUDING JUDGES’ COMMENTS

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RAYMOND SOUSTER AWARD 2016 SHORTLIST

The Wrong Cat by Lorna Crozier (McClelland & Stewart) | The Pemmican Eaters by Marilyn Dumont (ECW Press)

The Poison Colour by Maureen Hynes (Pedlar Press) | Standard Candles by Alice Major (University of Alberta Press)

The Arrow of Time by Bruce Meyer (Ronsdale Press) | The Thunderbird Poems by Armand Ruffo (Harbour Publishing)

2016 Jurors: Jenna Butler, Wendy Morton, Charles Mountford

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD A PDF OF SHORTLIST DETAILS, INCLUDING JUDGES’ COMMENTS

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SHERI-D WILSON GOLDEN BERET AWARD

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the Golden Beret Award was created by Sheri-D Wilson—a pioneer of spoken word poetry in Canada—to honour  a Canadian spoken word artist who has made a substantial contribution to the development of spoken word, through the originality and excellence of his or her own writing/performance works, and through involvement in—and contributions to—the expansion of the spoken word community. The award was first presented at the Calgary International Spoken Word Festival in 2007 and carries a $1000 prize.

The League of Canadian Poets and Calgary Spoken Word Society are thrilled to announce that the 2016 recipient of the prestigious Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award is RC Weslowski!

We are pleased to honor RC Weslowski of Vancouver, BC for his influence and impact on spoken word in Canada. He is a multi- talented performer who loves to walk between worlds to see what the ghost dragged in. RC wears many masks including poet, clown, storyteller, playwright, broadcaster, voice actor, coach and educator. Over the past 15 years he has toured North America, the United Kingdom and parts of Europe including many spoken word, poetry and music festivals.

2016 Jurors: Penn Kemp, Ian Ferrier, Sheri-D Wilson