We received so many amazing poems for this year’s contest. We’re excited and honoured to announce the winners of this year’s Pacific Spirit Poetry Prize, as selected by Aisha Sasha John! You can read all three pieces in our Spring issue 56.3, so make sure to order a copy!
Grand Prize Winner
“First Communion (1992)” by Ashley Hynd (Kitchener, ON)
Ashley Hynd lives on the Haldimand Tract. She was a member of the 2015 KWPS Slam team and her work has appeared in Arc Poetry Magazine. Her hobbies include trampling the patriarchy, avoiding doing the dishes and being consumed by conversations.
First Runner-Up
“Immersion” by Danielle Janess (Victoria, BC)
Danielle Janess grew up in Bright’s Grove, Ontario. Her poems and translations have appeared in literary journals and anthologies in Canada, Germany, the UK, and the U.S. As an actor/performance artist, she has been seen on stage and screen in Canada and Europe. She holds an MFA in Writing (UVic) and lives in Victoria.
Second Runner-Up
“Skins” by Tara Fietz (Victoria, BC)
Tara is a Creative Writing and Classical History double major. Her poetry manuscript explores connections between archaeology and family history, and is well diluted with Spanish wine. It makes her mother cry, so it must be decent. She loves camels, dislikes whipped cream, and is wary of star-nosed moles.
Judge
This year’s Pacific Spirit Poetry Prize judge was Aisha Sasha John. Aisha is a dancer and poet. Her solo performance the aisha of oz premiered at the Whitney Museum in New York in June 2017. Another iteration of the show will take place at the MAI in Montreal in April 2018. I have to live., Aisha’s third collection of poems, was published by McClelland and Stewart this spring. Her previous collection THOU(BookThug 2014) was finalist for both the Trillium Book Award for Poetry and the ReLit Poetry Award. Aisha’s video work and text art have been exhibited in galleries (Doris McCarthy, Oakville Galleries) and was commissioned by Art Metropole as part of her public art performance residency Let’s understand what it means to be here (together). Aisha has an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph, and a B.A. in African Studies and Semiotics from the University of Toronto. She was born in Montreal.
unsplash-logoAarón Blanco Tejedor
Congratulations to all the winners! The Jacob Zilber Prize for Short Fiction contest has been EXTENDED and now closes on January 31st. Submit now for your chance at the prize money and to have your work read by this year’s judge, Thalia Field!