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Forward prize shortlist announced

July 24, 2009
Organisers of the Forward prize, one of the UK’s most important poetry prizes, have hailed the strength of the contemporary scene, with a record number of submissions that were whittled down to three shortlists revealed on 23 July.
All six names shortlisted for this year’s £10,000 best collection prize are well-established, with the youngest being Don Paterson, 45, who won the Forward best first collection 16 years ago. This year he is nominated for his yet-to-be-published Rain. A titan of an older generation is also nominated with Peter Porter, 80, a previous winner, shortlisted for his 18th collection Better Than God. The Guardian praised it as "a densely fleshed book by a poet at the height of his powers".

The Forward prize’s founder, William Sieghart, said the entries – 109 submissions in the best collection category, 57 for best first collection and 120 for best single poem – highlighted “the rude health of the UK's contemporary poetry scene”.

Read the full article here.

Among the nominated poets is George Szirtes, who appeared this year at the Poetry International Festival in Rotterdam. His poem ‘Song’ has been shortlisted for the prize for best single poem.

Source: www.guardian.co.uk, 23 July 2009
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