John Ashbery and Robin Blaser split the prestigious Griffin Prize for Poetry last night, each taking home a pat on the back as well as $50,000 Canadian.
The 80-year old Ashbery won for his selected later poems, Notes from the Air, and the 83-year old Blaser for his collected poems, The Holy Forest.
The Griffin Prize, in its eighth year, is “the richest poetry prize in the world for a single volume” and celebrates its winners with a gala event in Toronto.
Here is the full story with humorous and touching quotes from both gents. And here’s a photo of the two happy winners courtesy of the Quill Blog:
I love the fact that the Canadian Press website has that huge picture of Michael Ondaatje, rather than Ashbery or Blaser. That’s so random. Couldn’t they find a picture of Maya Angelou?