April ushered in by plenty of poetry news

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This article was published 28/03/2026 (219 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

National Poetry Month may not kick off until April, but there’s lots to chew on in the meantime when it comes to poetry-related news.

The Griffin Poetry Prize revealed the 10-book long list for the $130,000 award on March 25, with Canadian scribes shut out from the group of finalists.

The prize, which originated in Canada, is the most lucrative single award for poets. In past years there were two $65,000 awards handed out annually — one for a Canadian book of poetry, and another for an international volume. The two were combined in 2023.

Among the poets longlisted for this year’s prize are Marissa Davis (End of Empire), Ange Mlinko (Foxglovewise), Kevin Young (Night Watch) and Emily Wilson (Burnt Mountain). The five-book short list will be revealed April 22 and the winner announced on June 3. For a complete list of longlisted poets see griffinpoetryprize.com/finalists.

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The Al and Eurithe Purdy Poetry Prize announced its own 10-book long list for the $10,000 award, with a book by a Winnipeg poet, published by a Manitoba publisher, in contention.

Winnipeg poet George Amabile’s Seeing Things, published by Winnipeg’s Signature Editions, is among the finalists, who also include Winnipeg-born Marilyn Bowering (Frayed Linens), Joseph Dandurand (I Would Like to Say Thank You), Karen Solie (Wellwater) and Gillian Sze (An Orange, A Syllable).

The short list drops on Thursday, with the winner revealed on April 21, the 26th anniversary of Al Purdy’s passing.

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Attention, prospective poets: sharpen those stanzas, as the Handsome Daughter (61 Sherbrook St.) hosts an open mic night, presented by Winnipeg Poetry Slam, on Tuesday.

The featured poet of the event will be Sebastian Gaillard, who in francophone literary circles is better-known as slam poet Séréam.

Doors open at 6 p.m., when readers can sign up for their spot at the mic, with the poetry kicking off at 7 p.m. Admission is $5-10 on a pay-what-you-can basis.

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On the written front, it’s last call for poets to submit work for the annual Writes of Spring project, as the window to send in work closes on Monday.

The theme for this year’s Writes of Spring, presented in conjunction with Plume Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Arts Council, is “land and sea,” and the dozen poems will be selected for publication in the April 25 Free Press by melanie brannagan frederiksen and Ariel Gordon. Selected poets will also be invited to read at the Writes of Spring launch on Sunday, April 26 at 2 p.m. at McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park location.

For details and to get your work in, see wfp.to/ich.

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A day-long event at the University of Manitoba will see poets and community members come together to mull over reading and writing in the context of grief.

The event, which takes place Tuesday in the Cross Common Room (room 108, St. John’s College) features a morning panel as well as a reading by Duncan Mercredi, while an afternoon reading features poets Catherine Hunter, Kristian Enright and Melanie Dennis Unrau followed by an open mic for those looking to share their work.

The morning registration is full, but there’s still space to attend the afternoon reading/open mic session. To register and for more information, see wfp.to/iat.

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Poetry is one of many genres where Canadian authors are finalists for this year’s Lambda Literary Awards, which celebrate LGBTTQ+ voices in literature.

Qurat Dar (Non-Prophet) is a finalist in the LGBTQ+ poetry category, jaye simpson (A More Tolerable Body) is a finalist in the transgender poetry category, and both Rebecca Salazar (Antibody) and Anna Swanson (The Garbage Poems) are in contention in the bisexual poetry category.

Other Canadian finalists in fiction, romance, drama young adult, non-fiction and anthology categories include Jordan Tannahill, Corey Liu, Gabrielle Drolet and Erin Dunn.

The winners will be announced in New York City at a ceremony taking place on June 12. For a list of all the finalists and categories, see wfp.to/ia5.

winnipegfreepress.com/bensigurdson