The T S Eliot Prize Awards Ceremony

To the remarkable Habersdashers’ Hall last night – never seen so much wood panelling and all brand new - for the T S Eliot Prize Awards Ceremony.

Chair of this year’s Judges, poet Gillian Clarke, talked of the difficulty of choosing a winner in, 'an exceptional year.' She spoke at some length about the merits of each of the 8 short-listed Collecitons as the poets looked on, each clutching the cheques for £1000 which they all recieve.

Shortlisted poets:

back row, l to r: Sean O'Brien, David Harsent, John Burnside, Daljit Nagra

front, l to r: Leontia Flynn, Carol Ann Duffy, Esther Morgan

Having reached the end of the list Clarke paused, ‘Is that it? Do I have to say now who is the winner?’

And so she announced the popular choice of John Burnside, for Black Cat Bone which, she said was, 'a haunting book of great beauty, powered by love, childhood memory, human longing and loneliness... an outstanding book, one which the judges felt grew with every reading.'

He’s a popular choice because he’s one of the finest poets around. His work is challenging, but as Clarke said, ‘always lets the reader in.’

 

Burnside reads from Black Cat Bone

For the first time in its history the Prize attracted TV coverage. See video of Channel 4 News item, here.

Listen to Burnside reading five of his poems, here.

Comments

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