Today our poetry news round up takes a look at the 2021 winner of the TS Eliot Prize. We also bring you an article about the possibility of a poem becoming a feature at Tank Bund in India, and finally the news that the Maya Angelou quarter has begun shipping.
TS Eliot Prize Winner Announced
The winner of this years TS Eliot Prize was announced on 11th January in a special ceremony that took place at the Wallace Collection, London.
Joelle Taylor was picked by the panel of judges from the 10-strong shortlisted entries as the 2021 winner for “C+nto & Othered Poems”, a collection that the judges described as being “a blazing book of rage and light”.
Taylor is a former winner of the UK slam champion title, and the collection is an exploration of her experience as a butch lesbian, particularly during the 1990s. The poems are a mixture of conjecture and memoir. This is her fourth book, and it takes a look at some of the underground communities that have been forged by women in an effort to reclaim their bodies for themselves. The judges felt that this year’s shortlist was a particularly strong one. However, the decision was made to award the prize to Taylor for her at times frank and moving collection which chronicles many of her own experiences; in particular, the hostility that she encountered as a kid growing up in a very conventional household.
Joelle Taylor is an award winning playwright, poet and author who has published four books. She was the founder of SLAMbassadors, the national youth slam championships in the UK which were run on behalf of the Poetry Society, and she was also the national coach and artistic director from 2001 to 2018.
Poem by Sarojini Naidu to be Installed at Tank Bund
It is hoped that a poem written by the poet and freedom fighter Sarojini Naidu about Hussain Sagar will be inscribed on a plaque and placed at Tank Bund, in order to commemorate the life of the man referred to as the “Nightingale of India.”
The suggestion for the plaque was made by a heritage enthusiast via the social media platform Twitter last year, and the Urban Development Special Chief Secretary agreed to consider it.
The poem in question is an extract from “The Bird of Time”, a book that was published in 1912. In addition to writing the poem about Hussain Sagar, Naidu also took inspiration for her poetry from culture, city life and local events and landmarks.
Poet Appears on Coin
The long awaited release of the US Mint coin featuring the poet Maya Angelou has finally arrived, with the announcement from the Mint that they have begun shipping of the quarters.
Maya Angelou will be the first Black woman to appear on a US coin, and she is the first of the women selected to appear on a series of coins depicting women who have made remarkable achievements in the US on a series of coins that will be issued over the next couple of years.
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