2020 Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology, The

HOA NGUYEN is the author of several books of poetry, including As Long As Trees Last, Red Juice, and Violet Energy Ingots, which was a finalist for the 2017 Griffin Poetry Prize. As a public proponent and advocate of contemporary poetry, she has served as guest editor for The Best Canadian Poetry in English 2018 and performed and lectured at numerous institutions, including Princeton University, Bard College, Poet’s House, and the Banff Centre’s Writers Studio. Winner of a 2019 Pushcart Prize and a 2020 Neustadt International Prize for Literature nominee, she has received grants and fellowships from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the MacDowell Colony, and the Millay Colony for the Arts. Her writing has garnered attention from such outlets as PBS NewsHour, Granta, The Walrus Magazine, the New York Times, and Poetry, among others. Born in the Mekong Delta and raised and educated in the United States, Nguyen has lived in Canada since 2011.

“I am very pleased to have been able to help with the inception of this important prize. Poetry is at the heart of language; it’s good to see it given the recognition it deserves.” — Margaret Atwood on the inaugural 2001 anthology