April: No Longer The Cruelest Month

A happy National Poetry Month to you!

Established eight years ago by The League of Canadian Poets, National Poetry Month brings together schools, publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, and poets across the country to celebrate poetry. In April, you might trip over poems in some of the oddest places.

Today, the festivities kicked off over breakfast at Toronto Reference Library’s Beaton Auditorium. With a morning of short readings hosted by The Globe and Mail’s Books Editor Martin Levin, The League announced its 2007 shortlists for the Gerald Lampert Award (best first book) and the Pat Lowther Award (best book by a woman). Congratulations to all the poets.

Gerald Lampert Award Shortlist

a broken mirror, fallen leaf, Yvonne Blomer
In the Lights of a Midnight Plow, David Hickey
Tacoma Narrows, Mitchell Parry
Anatomy of Keys, Steven Price
Wide slumber for lepidopterists, a.rawlings
Every Inadequate Name, Nick Thran

Pat Lowther Award Shortlist

Inventory, Dionne Brand
Liar, Lynn Crosbie
I, Nadja and Other Poems, Susan Elmslie
Types of Canadian Women, K.I. Press
Lemon Hound, Sina Queyras
The Good Bacteria, Sharon Thesen

Stay tuned: tomorrow, the Griffin Poetry Prize 2007 shortlists will be announced at 10 a.m. And while we didn’t offer $50 000 prizes (maybe next year?), Torontoist presents its own Toronto Poetry Contest winners on April 10.

Photos of Andrea Thompson and Martin Levin by Poetography.ca.