>>From the League of Canadian Poets
Toronto, June 2, 2015: The League of Canadian Poets revealed the winners of the 2015 Raymond Souster Award, the Pat Lowther and Gerald Lampert Memorial Awards, and the Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award in Winnipeg on Saturday, May 30, at a joint conference presented by the LCP and the Writers Union of Canada. The celebration marked the 49th annual LCP Poetry Conference and Festival.
Winners of the 2015 League of Canadian Poets Prizes
2015 RAYMOND SOUSTER AWARD: Washita by Patrick Lane (Harbour Publishing)
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 and is sponsored by the League of Canadian Poets. 2015 Jury: Micheline Maylor, Susan McMaster, D.C. Reid.
2015 PAT LOWTHER AWARD: M x T by Sina Queyras (Coach House Books)
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 is sponsored by the League of Canadian Poets. 2015 Jury: Di Brandt, Candice James, Concetta Principe.
2015 GERALD LAMPERT MEMORIAL AWARD: For Your Safety Please Hold On by Kayla Czaga (Nightwood Editions)
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 and is sponsored by the League of Canadian Poets. 2015 Jury: Sonja Greckol, Charles Mountford, David Seymour.
2015 SHERI-D WILSON GOLDEN BERET AWARD: Penn Kemp
This Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award was created by Sheri-D Wilson-a pioneer of spoken word poetry in Canada-to honour a Canadian spoken word artist who has made a substantial contribution to the development of spoken word, through the originality and excellence of his or her own writing/performance works, and through involvement in-and contributions to-the expansion of the spoken word community. The award carries a $1,000 prize and is sponsored by the League of Canadian Poets and Calgary Spoken Word Society. 2015 Jury: bill bissett, Moe Clark and Sheri-D Wilson.