2026 Purdy Poetry Prize goes to Tom Wayman: Jean Baird

 

April 22, 2026 TOM WAYMAN AWARDED  THE 2026 AL AND EURITHE PURDY POETRY PRIZE TOM WAYMAN AWARDED THE 2026 AL AND EURITHE PURDY POETRY PRIZE Eurithe Purdy and the Al Purdy A-frame Association (APAFA) are pleased  to announce that Tom Wayman has been awarded the 2026 Al and Eurithe  Purdy Poetry Prize for his collection Out of the Ordinary (Harbour Publishing).  The $10,000 prize recognizes the most outstanding new book of poetry  published in Canada in 2025 by an established poet with five or more  published poetry collections. Speaking from his home in the West Kootenays, Tom Wayman was thrilled  to learn his book had been selected for the 2026 award. “I’m especially  honoured,” said Wayman, “to be awarded the Al and Eurithe Purdy Poetry  Prize since, in my study where I write each day, a framed photo of Al  glowers down at me-keeping my writing honest, I like to think. Purdy was  helpful to me as a beginning writer in two ways. First, when I was still a  grad student, he named an anthology he edited after the title of a poem  of mine, “Fifteen Winds,” which gave me a huge boost in confidence.  And he included me in his 1971 collection of Canadian poets under 30,  Storm Warning, a kindness that led to my first book being accepted.  Second, the conversational tone of many of Purdy’s poems-a  compositional technique that looks easy to craft, but isn’t-has always  been a model for me: nobody else in the history of English-language  literature beats Purdy at this means to create a poetry anyone can enjoy.” There are two spots left in the April 25 zoom workshop with Stuart Ross, details below. THE GREAT POETRY HEIST Saturday April 25, 2026 at 1 - 3 p.m. ET, via zoom Stuart Ross offers a fun and productive workshop for poets at all levels of experience. We will explore strategies for mining the works of contemporary poets to create our own poems, employing a range of strategies involving ethical thievery, faux translation, ruthless erasure, unconscious collaboration, and affectionate imitation. Arrive with an open mind and leave with a heap of new poems unlike any you’ve written before. Stuart Ross is the author of 23 full-length books, most recently the poetry collection The Sky Is a Sky in the Sky, the Trillium Book Award–winning memoir The Book of Grief and Hamburgers, and the short story collection I Am Claude François and You Are a Bathtub. He has received the Canadian Jewish Literary Award for Poetry and the ReLit Award for Short Fiction, as well as the Harbourfront Festival Prize for his contributions to Canadian literature. Stuart has led scores of workshops in Canada, Chile, and the U.S., and has taught at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies for a decade. He was writer in residence at Queen’s University and the University of Ottawa and has mentored at the Banff Centre. Stuart lives in Cobourg, Ontario, just down the highway from Ameliasburgh. To register for the class send an e-transfer for $20 to info@alpurdy.ca Enrollment is limited.   https://www.alpurdy.ca/donate/ Thank you for your consideration, and your support!

Copyright © 2026 Al Purdy A-frame Association, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have supported the Al Purdy A-frame Association. Our mailing address is: Al Purdy A-frame Association 401--4542 West 10th Ave., Vancouver, BC V6R 2J1 Canada Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Banished Poets Society call for poetry/Purdy Poetry Prize call for Entries

Hello Chris,  the deadline for the next newsletter is Oct. 21st

Maybe some of your outreach readers will want to contribute,

all cultures and outlooks appreciated, we need to hear their voices.

Just an e-mail to klgordonpoet@gmail.com and their mailing address is all I need.    Much appreciation from Katherine. 

                                                      ~. ~.  ~.  ~.  ~.  ~.  ~.  ~.  ~

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS for the AL  AND EURITHE PURDY POETRY PRIZE   Eurithe Purdy and the Al Purdy A-frame Association (APAFA)  invite submissions for the 2026 Al and Eurithe Purdy Poetry Prize.  The $10,000 prize will recognize the most outstanding new poetry  book published in Canada in 2025 by an established poet with five  or more published poetry collections. The recipient of the 2026  prize will be announced on April 21, 2026, coinciding with the  26th anniversary of Al Purdy's passing. The shortlist will be  announced in March 2026.   Eurithe Purdy founded the Al and Eurithe Purdy Poetry Prize  in March 2024 to recognize and reward poets of distinguished  achievement who demonstrate exceptional talent and a profound  connection to the Canadian spirit, which her husband so memorably  captured in his works. The inaugural prize was awarded to  Alberta writer Sid Marty on April 21, 2024, for his book  Oldman's River: New and Collected Poems. Toronto poet  and scholar A.F. Moritz was awarded the prize in 2025 for his  collection, Great Silent Ballad,  published by House of Anansi Press.   An endowment established by Eurithe Purdy and overseen by  the APAFA will help ensure the award continues to celebrate  excellence in poetry across Canada while preserving Al  Purdy’s legacy in Canadian literature. Al Purdy is often  regarded as the "unofficial poet laureate" of English Canada,  leaving a significant mark on Canadian literature. Over his  prolific career, he authored over thirty poetry collections,  a memoir, essays, a novel, and various anthologies. His  contributions earned him the Governor General's Literary  Award twice, and he was named an Officer of the Order of  Canada and a member of the Order of Ontario. The League  of Canadian Poets also honoured him with the Voice of the  Land Award, recognizing his substantial impact on Canadian  poetry.   The deadline for submissions is Sunday, November 30, 2025.  For eligibility guidelines and entry forms, contact the prize  coordinator at prizecoordinator@shaw.ca.   - CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR 2026 AT THE AL AND  EURITHE PURDY A-FRAME, DEADLINE OCTOBER 10, 2025 The Call for Applications for residencies in 2026 in now OPEN. You can find  details about how to apply on our website: https://www.alpurdy.ca/residency/ Deadline is October 10, 2025.   FOUNDATION PROJECT Phase II   As you know from our last newsletter, in Phase I, time and funding did  not allow for finishing of the new basement space, or for remediation  of the property. During Phase II the land will be replanted to grass,  trees and shrubs and the following improvements will be undertaken:   --finishing the new lower storey --plumbing and fixture installation of kitchenette --flooring throughout the new space --cabinetry and fixtures in archive room, for Purdy materials  gifted by Eurithe Purdy, pictured below --replanting lawn throughout property --shrubbery around new foundation --new trees to replace the diseased elms that were removed --accessibility   Work will begin in November, after the residency program for 2025.  It would be ideal to have the inside work finished by March 2026  when the residency program will resume. The sooner the work is  finished the sooner we can extend our residency season. Please help us get that basement finished. https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/al-purdy-a-frame-associatio

Copyright © 2025 Al Purdy A-frame Association, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have supported the Al Purdy A-frame Association. Our mailing address is: Al Purdy A-frame Association 401--4542 West 10th Ave., Vancouver, BC V6R 2J1 Canada Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.