The Popescu Prize is a biennial poetry award established in 1983.Popescu Prize
, official website. It is given by the

Poetry Society The Poetry Society is a membership organisation, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry". The society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society, becoming the Poetry Society ...

for a volume of poetry translated from a European language into English. Formerly called the European Poetry Translation Prize (1983–1997), the prize was relaunched in 2003, renamed in memory of the Romanian translator

Corneliu M. Popescu Corneliu M. Popescu (; May 16, 1958 – March 4, 1977) was a Romanian translator of poetry who died at the age of 18 in the earthquake of 1977. A poetry translation prize was established in 2003 in commemoration of his work. Called the Popescu P ...

, who died at age 19 in 1977 and was known as the Corneliu M Popescu Prize that year and in 2005. Popescu translated the work of one of Romania's leading poets,

Mihai Eminescu Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanians, Romanian Romanticism, Romantic poet, novelist, and journalist from Moldavia, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Emin ...

, into English. The prize of £1,500 is awarded to a translator. Financial support has been provided by the Ratiu Foundation since 2003 (the Foundation was established in London in 1979 by Ion and Elisabeth Ratiu to promote and support projects which further education and research in the culture and history of Romania). The ''Encyclopedia of Literary Translation into English'' (2000) considered the European Poetry Translation Prize one of the most "prestigious" translation awards.

European Poetry Translation Prize

Source: *1983: ''The Oresteia'',

Tony Harrison Tony Harrison (born 30 April 1937) is an English poet, translator and playwright. He was born in Beeston, Leeds and he received his education in Classics from Leeds Grammar School and Leeds University. He is one of Britain's foremost verse ...

*1985:

Michael Hamburger Michael Peter Leopold Hamburger (22 March 1924 – 7 June 2007) was a noted German-British translator, poet, critic, memoirist and academic. He was known in particular for his translations of Friedrich Hölderlin, Paul Celan, Gottfried Benn and ...

*1987:

Ewald Osers Ewald Osers (13 May 1917 – 11 October 2011) was a Czech translator and poet born in Prague, Austria-Hungary. Career He translated several important Czech poetry works of the 20th century into English, including Jaroslav Seifert, Vítězsla ...

*1989:

David Luke David Luke (1921–2005) was a scholar of German literature at Christ Church, Oxford. He was renowned for his translations of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Thomas Mann, Heinrich von Kleist, Eduard Mörike, Adalbert Stifter and the Brothers Grim ...

*1991: Francis R. Jones *1993: Paul Lawton *1995:

George Szirtes George Szirtes (; born 29 November 1948) is a British poet and translator from the Hungarian language into English. Originally from Hungary, he has lived in the United Kingdom for most of his life after coming to the country as a refugee at the ...

*1997:

David Constantine David John Constantine (born 1944) is an English poet, short story writer, novelist, and translator. Life and career Born in Salford, Constantine read Modern Languages at Wadham College, Oxford, and was a Fellow of The Queen's College, Oxford, ...

and Francis R. Jones

Popescu Prize

* 2003:

for translation of ''Lighter than Air'' by

Hans Magnus Enzensberger Hans Magnus Enzensberger (11 November 1929 – 24 November 2022) was a German author, poet, translator, and editor. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Andreas Thalmayr, Elisabeth Ambras, Linda Quilt and Giorgio Pellizzi. Enzensberger was regarde ...

* 2005: Adam J. Sorkin & Lidia Vianu for translation of ''The Bridge'' by

Marin Sorescu Marin Sorescu (; 29 February 1936 – 8 December 1996) was a Romanian poet, playwright, and novelist. His works were translated into more than 20 countries, and the total number of his books that were published abroad rises up to 60 books. He h ...

* 2007: Ilmar Lehtpere for translation of ''The Drums of Silence'' by

Kristiina Ehin Kristiina Ehin (born 18 July 1977) is an Estonia, Estonian poet, translator, singer and songwriter. Ehin studied at University of Tartu with a degree in philology and specializes in folklore. In 2004, she acquired master's degree in the Estonia ...

* 2009: Randall Couch for translation of ''Madwomen'' by

Gabriela Mistral Lucila Godoy Alcayaga (; 7 April 1889 – 10 January 1957), known by her pseudonym Gabriela Mistral (), was a Chilean poet-diplomat, educator, and Catholic. She was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order or Third Franciscan order. She was ...

* 2011: Judith Wilkinson for translation of ''Raptors'' by

Toon Tellegen Antonius Otto Hermannus (Toon) Tellegen (born 18 November 1941) is a Dutch writer, poet, and physician, known for children's books, especially those featuring anthropomorphised animals, particularly those about an ant and a squirrel. His writings ...

* 2013:

Alice Oswald Alice Priscilla Lyle Oswald (née Keen; born 31 August 1966) is a British poet from Reading, Berkshire. Her work won the T. S. Eliot Prize in 2002 and the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2017. In September 2017, she was named as BBC Radio 4's second ...

, for ''Memorial'', based on the ''

Illiad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'' by

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

* 2015: Iain Galbraith for translation of ''Self-Portrait with a Swarm of Bees'' by Jan Wagner The award has not been run since 2015.

References

External links

Popescu Prize
official website {{Use dmy dates, date=December 2015 Awards established in 1983 Awards established in 2003 1983 establishments in the United Kingdom 2003 establishments in the United Kingdom British poetry awards Translation awards The Poetry Society