St Lucian Poet Canisia Lubrin Wins OCM Bocas Best Book Prize
April 28, 2021
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A BOOK-LENGTH poem that the OCM Bocas prize for Caribbean Literature judges consider “post-colonial poetry at its best” has triumphed in the stakes for best book by a Caribbean writer published last year. The Dyzgraphxst by St Lucia-born poet Canisia Lubrin is the 2021 winner of the prize, which comes with an award of US$10,000 courtesy One Caribbean Media.
2021 winner of the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, Canisia Lubrin. – Photo courtesy Bocas Lit Fest
It is the second consecutive year that a poet has won the international annual award for Caribbean writing, and the fourth poetry win in the 11-year history of the prize. Lubrin is the third St Lucia-born writer to win the overall prize, all for poetry. The other two are Derek Walcott in 2011 and Vladimir Lucien in 2015.
St Lucia-born poet Canisia Lubrin is the 2021 winner of the One Caribbean Media (OCM) Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature.
Lubrin’s The Dyzgraphxst, a book-length poem published by Penguin Random House Canada, was announced the overall winner by chief judge, Trinidadian-British poet Vahni Capildeo, during a virtual presentation streamed live via the Bocas Lit Fest website, Facebook and YouTube channel last night.
The NGC Bocas Lit Fest started on Friday and ends today.
The Canada-based poet, winner of the Bocas Lit poetry prize, was one of three genre category-topping authors shortlisted for the coveted OCM award and US$10,000 prize.
Jamaica-born Maisy Card’s debut novel, These Ghosts Are Family, winner of the Bocas Lit fiction prize, and T&T’s Andre Bagoo’s wide-ranging collection of essays, The Undiscovered Country, winner of the Bocas Lit non-fiction prize, were the other two finalists.
St Lucian poet Canisia Lubrin wins OCM Bocas best book prize
2021 winner of the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, Canisia Lubrin. - Photo courtesy Bocas Lit Fest
A book-length poem that the OCM Bocas prize for Caribbean Literature judges consider “post-colonial poetry at its best” has triumphed in the stakes for best book by a Caribbean writer published last year. The Dyzgraphxst by St Lucia-born poet Canisia Lubrin is the 2021 winner of the prize, which comes with an award of US$10,000 courtesy One Caribbean Media.
It is the second consecutive year that a poet has won the international annual award for Caribbean writing, and the fourth poetry win in the 11-year history of the prize. Lubrin is the third St Lucia-born writer to win the overall prize, all for poetry.
Children’s stories come alive at Bocas Lit Fest
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New stories in the Dragonzilla’s Storytime series premiere during the 2021 NGC Children’s Bocas Lit Fest. Actor Farouk Jr brings The Mystery of the Seaweed to life. -
AS the NGC Bocas Lit Fest rolls out a second year of an all-virtual festival, from April 23-25, young ones can look forward to dynamic and engaging online content on two days of the festival.
The children’s sessions will come alive in myriad exciting ways for a fresh crop of young readers and writers as it features some of the best storytellers, local talent, and stories written by children during the past ten years of the NGC Children’s Storytelling Caravan.
Deane among 10 Caribbean writers vying for top prize
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The 2021 long list for the region’s only prize for emerging writers, the Johnson and Amoy Achong Caribbean Writers Prize (JAAWP), has been announced by the Bocas Lit Fest.
Of the ten writers who have been longlisted for the third and last edition of the Johnson and Amoy Achong Prize, eight of them are from Trinidad and Tobago, one from Guyana and one from Barbados, the previous award-winning Linda Deane.
This unique award is dedicated to advancing the work of an emerging Caribbean voice in the poetry genre; the 2019 and 2020 prizes were for fiction and non-fiction respectively.