Michael Ondaatje among finalists for $10K prize for established Canadian poets

CBC Books

· Posted: Apr 02, 2025 11:45 AM EDT | Last Updated: 28 minutes ago

Michael Ondaatje is among the 5 shortlisted authors for the 2025 Al & Eurithe Poetry Prize.

The $10,000 prize, present successful its 2nd year, recognizes the champion caller publication from a Canadian poet who has published 5 oregon much poesy books.

Ondaatje is nominated for his publication A Year of Last Things, his long-awaited instrumentality to poetry. Drawing connected his idiosyncratic experiences, this postulation goes backmost successful clip to each the borders that he's crossed with imagery astatine erstwhile witty, moving and wise. 

Ondaatje is simply a Canadian literate icon. His novels and poesy person earned planetary acclaim, and helium was the archetypal Canadian ever to triumph the Booker Prize — successful 1992, for the wartime story The English Patient. Born successful Sri Lanka and educated successful England, Ondaatje moved to Canada erstwhile helium was 18 to be university.

• For prize-winning writer and novelist Michael Ondaatje, each publication is an enactment of discovery

Ondaatje began his penning vocation successful 1967 arsenic a poet, winning 2 Governor General's Literary Awards for poesy earlier turning to fiction. Over his career, he's besides won the Giller Prize and France's prestigious Prix Medicis.

The other writers nominated are Brian Bartlett for The Astonishing Room, Tim Bowling for In the Capital City of Autumn, A.F. Moritz for Great Silent Ballad and Harold Rhenisch for The Salmon Shanties.

The jury, composed of writers Laisha Rosnau, Sam Solecki and Sid Marty, past year's winner, selected the shortlist.

The prize was founded successful honour of writer Al Purdy and the victor volition beryllium announced connected April 21, 2025, the 25th day of his death.

Purdy published implicit 30 poesy collections, a novel, 2 memoirs and 4 books of letters implicit his 50-year career. Known arsenic Canada's unofficial writer laureate, helium received 2 Governor General's Literary Awards for poesy for The Cariboo Horses and The Collected Poems of Al Purdy.

• 'He is the champion parts of Canada': Why Greg Bryk loves Al Purdy's poetry

He was awarded the Order of Canada successful 1982 and won the League of Canadian Poets' Voice of the Land Award, recognizing his contributions to Canadian poetry.

WATCH | Remembering Al Purdy: 

If you are funny successful poesy prizes, the 2025 CBC Poetry Prize is unfastened April 1-June 1. You can submit an original, unpublished poem oregon postulation of poems. The victor volition person $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, a two-week penning residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and person their enactment published on CBC Books.