Canadian Poet Karen Solie reacts as she learns that has received the Griffin Poetry Prize 2010Fernando Morales/The Globe and Mail
Cruelly, April is national poetry month. But the poets, at least, are not dismayed. Dozens are expected to gather this Tuesday in Toronto to listen to and judge the finals of the second annual Poetry in Voice recitation contest for Canadian high school students. Among the judges will be Saskatchewan-born Karen Solie, winner of the 2010 Griffin Poetry Prize.
How did winning the Griffin Prize change your life?
It took a lot of the pressure off. I was able to pay off some debts and go to the dentist and stuff like that. It seems mundane but it does make a difference to your mental welfare just to take care of a bunch of things and get them away from you.
Has the pressure returned?
You get to be a certain age and then realize, Heck, I'm 45 and I have absolutely no security whatsoever – nothing. That's freaky, but it's not exactly like life is so bad either. Most people are in the same boat and a lot are in a boat that's a hell of a lot worse. So I feel pretty lucky.
What will you be looking for from contestants?
Can't we just have everybody win? It's really harsh to have to judge this kind of thing. But you can tell when somebody knows what they're reading. Not just what the words mean, but also how the syntax and the line breaks and the cadence and the tone of the entire poem is being expressed as well. You can tell when that's going on in the reader's mind.
What's going on in your mind?
I think it's a really great thing to go to every year. It's lovely to hear all these poems read. And it's a fun addition to the cultural calendar in the city.
John Barber
The grand finals of Poetry in Voice take place April 17, 7 p.m. $5 to $10. Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles St. W., 416-978-8849, poetryinvoice.com.