The Griffin Poetry Prize has named Raúl Zurita as the 2026 recipient of the Lifetime Recognition Award, given to international artists working in poetry. Zurita will participate in the 2026 Griffin Poetry Prize Readings on June 3 with his translator, Anna Deeny Morales. Their reading will be part of a live performance by Armenian-Canadian pianist/composer Eve Egoyan, with filmmakers Lior Shamriz and Chloé Griffin paying homage to Zurita's poetry throughout.
The event will feature the announcement of the international Griffin Poetry Prize winner, as well as readings by the 2026 shortlisted poets--Gbenga Adesina, Daniel Borzutzky, Alec Schumacher, Elvira Hernández, Aracelis Girmay, Ange Mlinko, and Kevin Young--and the Canadian First Book Prize winner, to be named May 20. There will also be a recitation by one of the 2026 Finalists of Poetry in Voice/Les voix de la poésie, a Canada-wide school recitation competition.
The international Griffin Poetry Prize winner will receive C$130,000 (about US$94,880), while the other shortlisted authors each get C$10,000 (about US$7,300). Zurita, the Lifetime Recognition Award recipient, receives C$25,000 (about US$18,245).