The Shortlist for the Crashaw Prize 2010

This year the Crashaw Prize — the UK’s only international prize for full length collections of poetry — received over eighty entries from four continents. The writers span not merely the English-speaking world, but also the striking diversity of contemporary poetry written in our extravagant tongue. It would be impudent to argue for any sense of the centeredness of modern English usage, no one can claim to own or direct poetry in English — and perhaps one ought to argue for entirely the opposite: that we should recognise that poetry in English is both expansive, baggy and unlimited — traversing peoples and national boundaries and even imaginations.

The prize, now in its third year, has come reflect both this extraordinary plurality of practice and the continuing excitement poetry evokes in communities far and wide — poetry is clearly thriving. What characterises this year’s entries is the clear points of contact many poets now have through the Web and social networks into communities of readers who are, as it were, without borders.  Though poetry can be passionately local its new habitat is online and global and this brings with it a new excitement and a new set of ambitions for poets writing today in our networked societies. Poetry is very much a public and participative art which everyone can enjoy. This brings additional and sometimes complex pressures in selecting works which we believe can engage a wide readership where the readership may be widely dispersed. We believe we have done this and I’m delighted to announce the shortlist for this year’s prize.

The shortlist (in alphabetical order)

Vesna Goldsworthy The Angel of Salonika (UK/Serbia)

Rebecca Lehmann Between the Crackups (USA)

Lauren Levin Not Time (USA)

Alice Miller Theatre of Strangers (New Zealand)

Stephen Nelson Lunar Poems for New Religions (UK)

Charlotte Pence Other Interruptions (USA)

Aidan Semmens The Book of Isaac (UK)

Catherine Theis The Fraud of Good Sleep (USA)

The winners will be announced in during April, National Poetry Month.

Notes for editors

1. The Crashaw Prize is the only international poetry prize for full length collections of poetry written in English.
2. The prize is administered by Salt and judged by Publisher, Chris Hamilton-Emery.
3. The prize began in  2008. Winners are published the following year of entry.
4. Since the prize began it has successfully published ten first collections.
5. Previous winners include:

2009 Winners

Nathan Hoks, Reveilles (USA)

Andrew Pidoux, Year of the Lion (UK)

Nick Potamitis, The Book of Night Terrors (UK)

Jonty Tiplady, Zam Bonk Dip (UK)

Ryan van Winkle, Tomorrow, We Will Live Here (UK)

Anna Woodford, Birdhouse (UK)

2008 Winners

Tom Chivers, How to Build a City (UK)

Abi Curtis, Unexpected Weather (UK)

Jamey Dunham, The Bible of Lost Pets (USA)

Jared Stanley, Book Made of Forest (USA)