*ALL NEW AWARD FOR MEMBERS OF THE LEAGUE OF CANADIAN POETS*
Raymond Souster Award
BOOK AWARDS: Pat Lowther Memorial Award / Gerald Lampert Memorial Award
POEM CONTEST FOR YOUTH: Jessamy Stursberg Poetry Contest for Canadian Youth
Congratulations to the Winners of the Pat Lowther, Gerald Lampert and the new Raymond Souster Memorial Awards
The winners of the 2013 Pat Lowther and Gerald Lampert Memorial Awards and the new Raymond Souster Award were announced on Saturday, June 8, at the 47th annual LCP Poetry Festival and Conference held at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in downtown Toronto. A.F. Moritz is the winner of the new Raymond Souster Award for the book The New Measures (House of Anansi Press Inc), Gillian Savigny wins the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award for Notebook M (Insomniac Press) and Rachel Rose has won the Pat Lowther Memorial Award for Song and Spectacle (Harbour Publishing).
The shortlist for this year’s awards:
Raymond Souster Award: The Raymond Souster Award is given for a book of poetry by a League of Canadian Poets member published in the preceding year. The award honours the late Raymond Souster, an early founder of the League of Canadian Poets. The award carries a $1,000 prize.
Hummingbird by John Wall Barger (Palimpsest Press)
the Flicker tree: Okanagan Poems by Nancy Holmes (Ronsdale Press)
Wayworn Wooden Floors by Mark Lavorato (The Porcupine’s Quill)
Between Dusk and Night by Emily McGiffin (Brick Books)
The New Measures by A.F. Moritz (House of Anansi Press Inc.)
no ordinary place by Pamela Porter (Ronsdale Press)
2013 Jury: David Day, Louise Bernice Halfe, Barry Dempster
Gerald Lampert Memorial Award Shortlist: The Gerald Lampert Memorial Award is given in the memory of Gerald Lampert, an arts administrator who organized authors’ tours and took a particular interest in the work of new writers. The award recognizes the best first book of poetry published by a Canadian in the preceding year. The award carries a $1,000 prize.
Charms Against Lightning by James Arthur (Copper Canyon Press)
I see my love more clearly from a distance by Nora Gould (Brick Books)
The Lease by Mathew Henderson (Coach House Books)
Sumptuary Laws by Nyla Matuk (Véhicule Press/A Signal Edition)
repeater by Andrew McEwan (BookThug)
Notebook M by Gillian Savigny (Insomniac Press)
2013 Jury: Kathy Mac, Marguerite Pigeon, Heather Cadsby
Pat Lowther Memorial Award Shortlist: The Pat Lowther Memorial Award is given for a book of poetry by a Canadian woman published in the preceding year, in memory of the late Pat Lowther, whose career was cut short by her untimely death in 1975. The award carries a $1,000 prize.
Soul Mouth by Marilyn Bowering (Exile Editions)
Monkey Ranch by Julie Bruck (Brick Books)
The Book of Marvels by Lorna Crozier (Greystone Books)
Slow Curve Out by Maureen Scott Harris (Pedlar Press)
A Grain of Rice by Evelyn Lau (Oolichan Books)
Song and Spectacle by Rachel Rose (Harbour Publishing)
2013 Jury: Kate Braid, Gay Allison, Marsha Barber
Judges Comments:
Raymond Souster: The New Measures by A.F. Moritz (House of Anansi Press Inc.)
Albert Moritz’s The New Measures is filled with both ruin and creation and their domination of our recurring dreams, our flow in and out of apocalypse, our faith in the Word in all its forms. There is such fierceness here, voices rung from both steel and stars; praises embedded in even the darkest of lamentations. Moritz’s tenderness sits side by side with his rage in these poems as if he still believes in paradise, as if poetry might be a way of achieving it.
Gerald Lampert: Notebook M by Gillian Savigny (Insomniac Press)
Inspired by one of the notebooks compiled by Charles Darwin on his voyage around the world, Gillian Savigny’s Notebook M takes some provocative concepts of nineteenth century naturalism and runs with them. The book’s three sections play with poetic form, particularly “Journal of Researches: Patagonia,” in which Savigny exhumes poetry from Darwin’s texts. Savigny’s language compels the reader, seamlessly integrating scientific and pseudo-scientific terms — a significant achievement. Like Darwin, she covers uncharted ground, and her poetry exhibits the same charm that earmarks his prose. M is for many things, including magnificent.
Pat Lowther: Song and Spectacle by Rachel Rose (Harbour Publishing)
I fell in love with this book…it made me weep. Song & Spectacle is a mature & moving exploration of what it truly means to be human. A compassionate & passionate mother’s touch: an authentic and truthful plea for a better world. Rose’s poetry is lyrical with a narrative impulse, combined with a startling honesty and wisdom that is both humbling and deeply felt. This is a strong and inspirational book.
Using traditional form, rhythm and rhyme when she wants to, and with a sparkle and sweet sense of humour that are uniquely her own, Rose is a storyteller. She lures you to come closer as she talks about anything, everything – from rain to death to breastfeeding – and you come away feeling somehow wiser, and lighter.
Spectacular. Took off the top of my head. Powerful imagery, rich language, a fierce appeal to both the heart and the mind.
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POEM CONTEST FOR YOUTH: