Judging a literary prize isn't easy. Reading so many books in such a short time is a herculean task, and then there's the heartbreaking chore of selecting a winner. All this must be doubly hard for judges of the Griffin Poetry Prize; not only do they select one book of poetry as the best in English Canada each year, they must choose another winner for the entire English-speaking world. According to the Griffin Trust, this year's crop amounted to nearly 400 books from a dozen countries.
First on the Canadian short list is Kate Hall's debut collection, The Certainty Dream. This book is concerned with those cornerstones of surrealism, ambiguity and the unconscious mind. It's fertile ground, but difficult to plow; one must avoid being derivative and meaningless all at once. But Hall isn't rehashing 85-year-old experiments for their own sake, nor is she writing “innovative” gibberish. On the contrary, her dreamscape is both current and welcoming, and she maintains a clarity of diction that keeps the peculiarity of her images in breathtaking focus. This is strong writing filled with delights. Like the other books on this year's list, it would make a worthy winner, but a first book has never won the Griffin Poetry Prize, and I feel the odds might be stacked against her.
CANADIAN SHORTLIST
- The Certainty Dream, by Kate Hall, Coach House, 80 pages, $16.95
- Coal and Roses, by P.K. Page, Porcupine's Quill, 94 pages, $16.95
- Pigeon, by Karen Solie, House of Anansi, 100 pages, $18.95
INTERNATIONAL SHORTLIST
- Grain, by John Glenday, Picador, 50 pages, $14.99
- A Village Life, by Louise Glück, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 72 pages, $27.50
- The Sun-Fish, by Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, Gallery, 64 pages, $52
- Cold Spring in Winter, by Valérie Rouzeau, translated by Susan Wicks, Arc Publications, 130 pages, $31
The other poets on the Canadian short list have both been nominated before. Karen Solie, nominated this year for Pigeon, was also nominated in 2002 for her debut collection, Short Haul Engine. That first book struck a delicate balance between lyrical and narrative sensibilities, and Solie's successive work has continued in this vein with stunning results. Balance is key in Solie's writing. Words are ephemeral things, but in her hands they become palpable. Her work is cerebral, but its effects are especially visceral. And always, there is a sense that no matter how dire her subject, the best possible world is still within reach, and the reader is buoyed by that notion. Pigeon is no exception, and it shows why she has become one of the most admired Canadian poets of her generation.
The other veteran is P.K. Page, who was nominated in 2003 for Planet Earth: New and Selected Poems and again this year for Coal and Roses: Twenty-one Glosas. Sadly, Page, one of the finest lyric poets our nation has ever produced, passed away in January of this year. At the age of 93, she was still at the top of her game, as this newest collection amply demonstrates. Her glosas not only showcase her mastery of form and facility with voice, but also her passion for the art form and willingness to pay homage to those who've inspired her. Few poets have had a career of such longevity and persistent excellence, and for this, her place as one of the major Canadian modernists is assured.
