Announcing the Pavlick Winners

The Pavlick Poetry Prize 2021 Winners

The Leon E. & Ann M. Pavlick Poetry Prize seeks to honour and encourage a Canadian poet whose work displays ample creativity and promise as well as an outstanding poetry group or collective with a positive and ongoing impact on poetry in Canada. Two prizes of $10,000 were awarded.

Congratulations to Group Winner Canthius and Individual Winner Andrea Thompson!

Canthius celebrates poetry and prose by women, trans men, nonbinary, Two-Spirit, genderqueer, and gender non-conforming writers. The magazine is published bi-annually, and over 8 issues, has displayed its committed to publishing diverse perspectives and experiences. Since its very first issue, Canthius has also committed to paying its contributors, before any funding had been secured. Their hard work and dedication to representation, diversity, and quality has seen them grow into a municipally- and provincially-funded literary magazine that highlights art, fiction, poetry, and non-fiction by some of Canada’s most historically oppressed communities. Their commitment to producing a beautiful print edition of the journal rewards readers and contributors alike.

This prize has been presented to Canthius to allow them not just to continue the great work they are already doing, but to encourage and enable them to push boundaries, working towards moving beyond the language of diversity and representation toward a truly equitable, joyful, and welcoming literary space. We look forward to seeing how this investment will enrich Canada’s poetry landscape.

From the jurors: “Only to explain difference must no longer be the requirement of our artistic labours. What is needed are avenues that can allow for exposure and examination with fullness, that gesture towards both criticality and care. Canthius is able to be one such avenue.”

Andrea Thompson is an artist. Her spoken word albums and performances have been critically acclaimed, and her work in Canada’s spoken word community has been foundational and trail-blazing. Throughout her career, she has dedicated herself to nurturing and supporting youth and emerging artists of all ages, sometimes putting her own work on a back burner to do so. With a passion for using poetry and performance as a tool for empowerment, Thompson has helped hundreds of vulnerable and disenfranchised students to develop their craft and literacy skills while increasing their emotional well-being and self-esteem. Throughout the 90s, she worked to help Canadian spoken word gain national and international recognition through radio, documentary, performance, and more.

This prize is being awarded to Andrea Thompson because an investment in Andrea Thompson is an investment in the future of Canadian poetry. Thompson’s work will continue to change hearts and minds, and giving her the opportunity to focus on her own work will allow us all to reap the benefits when the work makes it out into the world. We are excited to see what Andrea Thompson will bring us next.

From the jurors: “It’s about time spoken word artists begin to receive the recognition they deserve. Thompson’s work is powerful and critical. I look forward to not only her new work but the inspirational ripples it will cause throughout the community.”

Runner up for the Individual Prize is Armand Garnet Ruffo

Honorable mentions:

Canisia Lubrin Cicely Belle Blain Cristalle Smith David Ly Faith Paré George Elliott Clarke jaye simpson joelle baron Louise Bernice Melanie Power Michael Fraser Phoebe Wang Tanis McDonald

The jurors for this award were:

Chelene Knight, Joseph Dandurand and Zarmina Rafi

For full details on the winners, including statements, and juror bios, visit our announcement page