Eve Joseph was so shocked to be named the Canadian winner of the $65,000 Griffin Poetry Prize, she had to bite her tongue to keep from swearing.

B次元官网网址淗oly something,B次元官网网址� Joseph said as she accepted the honour at a Toronto gala Thursday night.

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B次元官网网址淭he only thing I can possibly say is thank you for falling in love with poetry, so we, too, and others can fall in love.B次元官网网址�

The Victoria-based writer was recognized for B次元官网网址淨uarrels,B次元官网网址� published by Anvil Press, a collection of prose poems that explores the logic of the illogical.

In their citation, judges said the poems capture B次元官网网址渢he intriguing spaces and moments defeating the boundaries of the real.B次元官网网址�

As she stepped down from the podium, Joseph said she was overcome by a similar sense of unreality.

B次元官网网址淚 feel like IB次元官网网址檓 a little bit out of my body. But also, paradoxically, in my body, completely here and present, and savouring it,B次元官网网址� she said in an interview.

B次元官网网址淥ne does not expect to feel and experience this in oneB次元官网网址檚 life.B次元官网网址�

The Vancouver-raised, 66-year-old writer said B次元官网网址淨uarrelsB次元官网网址� marked a departure from her previous two collections, and, despite having won one of the richest prizes for poetry, Joseph said she feels she still has work to do to master her craft.

B次元官网网址淭he form is as much about reach for me as anything. I was reaching all the time to be able to find that blend of the ordinary and the strange B次元官网网址� the marvellous,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not the literal truth, but itB次元官网网址檚 the marvellous truth.B次元官网网址�

Joseph won the B.C. Book Prize for non-fiction in 2015 for her memoir, B次元官网网址淚n the Slender Margin,B次元官网网址� about how personal loss informed her 20 years working as counsellor in a hospice.

Having retired last year, Joseph said the time she spent immersed in the B次元官网网址渆xtremityB次元官网网址� of the human story helped her find the B次元官网网址渂igger-than-life storiesB次元官网网址� in writing B次元官网网址漄uarrels.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淢y mother was a storyteller, but I grew up not knowing what was truth and what was fiction,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址漌hen I look back, fiction is way more interesting to me.B次元官网网址�

The international prize, also worth $65,000, went to Don Mee ChoiB次元官网网址檚 translation of Korean poems written by Kim Hyesoon in B次元官网网址淎utobiography of Death,B次元官网网址� published by New Directions.

The Seoul-born, Seattle-based translator will receive 60 per cent of the cash prize, and the remaining 40 per cent will go to Hyesoon, who is from South Korea.

Griffin trustee Ian Williams said the theme uniting this yearB次元官网网址檚 finalists was death, which seems to loom large over todayB次元官网网址檚 world, but their take on the subject was not as morbid as one would expect.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 this sort of return to death B次元官网网址� but itB次元官网网址檚 actually not so bleak,B次元官网网址� the Vancouver-based poet and author said. B次元官网网址滻 think thereB次元官网网址檚 sort of a political engagement thatB次元官网网址檚 happening these days, but thereB次元官网网址檚 still that sort of lining of hope, which I think is sort of refreshing and redemptive.B次元官网网址�

ThursdayB次元官网网址檚 poetry bash featured a whoB次元官网网址檚 who of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 literary scene, including award-winning writers Michael Ondaatje, Michael Redhill and David Chariandy, as well as former governor general Adrienne Clarkson.

Plush birds were perched on branches throughout the hall in TorontoB次元官网网址檚 Distillery District in keeping with the eveningB次元官网网址檚 avian theme, which the prizeB次元官网网址檚 founder and chairman Scott Griffin said was meant to represent B次元官网网址減oetry taking flight.B次元官网网址�

Montreal writer Nicole Brossard, recipient of the $20,000 Lifetime Recognition Award, was also honoured at the dinner reception.

This yearB次元官网网址檚 Canadian runners-up were former Toronto poet laureate Dionne Brand for B次元官网网址淭he Blue ClerkB次元官网网址� (McClelland & Stewart) and University of Waterloo professor Sarah TolmieB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭he Art of DyingB次元官网网址� (McGill-QueenB次元官网网址檚 University Press).

For the international prize, the other contenders were British-Jamaican spoken-word poet Raymond AntrobusB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淭he PerseveranceB次元官网网址� (Penned in the Margins); Chicago-based Daniel BorzutzkyB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淟ake MichiganB次元官网网址� (University of Pittsburgh Press); and Ani GjikaB次元官网网址檚 translation of Albanian poems written by Luljeta Lleshanaku in B次元官网网址漀egative SpaceB次元官网网址� (Bloodaxe Books).

In addition to the grand prize winners, each finalist also received $10,000 for participating in Wednesday eveningB次元官网网址檚 readings at Koerner Hall.

According to prize organizers, judges Ulrikka Gernes of Denmark, Srikanth Reddy of the United States and Kim Maltman of Canada culled this yearB次元官网网址檚 short list from 510 books of poetry, from 32 countries, including 37 translations.

Adina Bresge, The Canadian Press

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