(cross posted )
The Governor General’s Literary Award, shortlist sounds pleasing, having heard a few read excerpts at the writers festival. It’s structure and aim seems clear, with 14 people assessing quality and importance of work and then giving writers cash to do more. It seems to more promote what to read as well.
I’m not sure whether to be happy or sad about the Quills Awards short list. Shortlist of Collins and Angelou, Oliver and Neruda and an anthology of Good Poems for Hard Times? They self-described their awards point as to “pair a populist sensibility with Hollywood-style glitz”.
What is the Quills Awards goal? If everyone already knows and market saturation is reached before awards, what does publicity do for who, and what does it do for Pablo Nerudo now? (It’s a translation but.) It seems to promote who to like (I mean really really like…) rather than guide what exactly to read. Is it to reach more non-readers by making poetry more mainstream? Perhaps that’s it. But they’re already all household names and have been for decades (or am I just Ameri-centric?) Or maybe it’s to make something like a paparazzi industry /sex symbol of poets?
Brian Campbell points to this CBC article on the GG awards