The League of Canadian Poets (LCP), founded in 1966, is a national non-profit arts service organization based in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, Ontario, Canada. The organization acts as the national association of professional and aspiring poets in Canada. The League counts
Phyllis Webb
Phyllis Webb (April 8, 1927 – November 11, 2021) was a Canadian poet and broadcaster.
Webb's poetry had diverse influences, ranging from neo-Confucianism to the field theory of composition developed by the Black Mountain poets. Critics hav ...
Barry Dempster
Barry Edward Dempster (born 17 January 1952) is a Canadian poet, novelist, and editor.
Barry Dempster was born in Toronto, Ontario, and educated in child psychology. He is the author of two novels, a children's book, three volumes of short sto ...
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, ...
among its membership; it provides funding for poetry readings and competitions, hosts an annual AGM, runs a series of awards, and publishes an electronic newsletter.
Membership
Members of the League are professional poets who are actively contributing to the development, growth, and public profile of poetry in Canada. They offer two primary levels of membership, as well as student and supporting memberships, open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
Full members are poets with an established poetic career, whether with a published book of poetry or a background in performance and spoken word poetry.
Associate members are poets working towards establishing their careers. Poet Bruce Meyer helped to establish the associate level of membership in the 1970s to enable young poets to join the League.
Awards
The League organizes the annual
Pat Lowther Memorial Award
The Pat Lowther Memorial Award is an annual award presented by the League of Canadian Poets to the year's best book of poetry by a Canadian woman.Gerald Lampert Award, and the
Raymond Souster Award The Raymond Souster Award is a Canadian literary award, presented by the League of Canadian Poets to a book judged as the best work of poetry by a Canadian poet in the previous year."Local poet wins national prize". ''Telegraph-Journal'', June 12, 2 ...
. The recipient of each award receives an cash honorarium, and there is an administration fee of $25 for each submission.
The Pat Lowther Memorial Award is named after
Pat Lowther
Patricia Louise Lowther (born Patricia Louise Tinmuth) (July 29, 1935 – September 24, 1975) was a Canadian poet. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, she grew up in the neighboring city of North Vancouver.
Life
Lowther's first published poem ...
, and is for a book of poetry by a Canadian woman published in the preceding year. It was given to
Anne Simpson
Anne Simpson is a Canadian poet, novelist, artist and essayist. She was a recipient of the Griffin Poetry Prize.
Biography
Simpson received her B.A. and M.A. degrees from Queen's University, and graduated in Fine Arts from OCAD University (form ...
in 2008.
The Gerald Lampert Award, named after arts administrator and writer
Gerald Lampert
Gerald Lampert (c. 1924 - April 29, 1978) was a Canadian writer and educator,"Gerald Lampert: Poet founded workshops". '' The Globe and Mail'', May 2, 1978. best known as the organizer of one of Canada's first annual educational workshop series for ...
, is for a first book of poetry published by a Canadian.
Anna Swanson
Anna Swanson is a Canadian poet.
In May 2011, Swanson received a Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Poetry for her debut poetry collection, ''The Nights Also''. In June, she received the Gerald Lampert Award The Gerald Lampert Memorial Award is mad ...
was given the award in 2011 for ''The Nights Also''. Previous winners include
Katia Grubisic
Katia Grubisic (born April 25, 1978, in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian writer, editor and translator.
Biography
Katia Grubisic completed French and English literature degrees at the University of New Brunswick, and received her master's degree f ...
in 2009 for ''What if red ran out'', and Alex Boyd in 2008 for ''Making Bones Walk''.
The
Raymond Souster Award The Raymond Souster Award is a Canadian literary award, presented by the League of Canadian Poets to a book judged as the best work of poetry by a Canadian poet in the previous year."Local poet wins national prize". ''Telegraph-Journal'', June 12, 2 ...
is given for a book of poetry by a League member published in the preceding year. The winner is given a $2000 prize, and the winning book is presented at the LCP AGM.
Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is t ...