Canada's Next Top Poetry Stars

It is often propagated that poetry is a dying art. Not if Scott Griffin has anything to do with it. In 2000, Griffin founded The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry aimed at “awareness of the crucial role poetry plays in our cultural life.” Since its inception – with the support of trustees Margaret Atwood, Carolyn Forché, Robert Hass, Michael Ondaatje, Robin Robertson, and David Young – the Prize has become the world’s largest of its kind for a first edition single collection of poetry. This mission gave way to Poetry in Voice, a competition that sees high school students recite contemporary and classical poems to promote the preservation of the art form in the classroom and beyond. Originally conceived three years ago in Ontario, the 2013 edition marks the first time Poetry in Voice has gone national. Drawing in submissions from all corners of the country, 39 finalists converged on Toronto for a full week of cultural immersion, including workshops led by famed wordsmiths Stuart Ross and Swann Paradis, as well as an afternoon of art and poetry with Atwood at the Art Gallery of Ontario.