Anna Swanson, an Al Purdy A-frame writer-in-residence in 2019, was shortlisted in 2023 for the prestigious CBC Poetry Prize for her poem Sweetness | מתיקות. Swanson (she/her) is a queer Jewish writer and librarian currently completing her MFA at the University of Guelph, and otherwise based in St. John’s, NL/Ktaqmkuk. Her writing delves into themes of chronic illness, concussion, embodiment, queerness, Jewish ritual, Palestinian solidarity, collective liberation, swimming, and survival joy.
Swanson’s first book of poetry, The Nights Also, won both the Gerald Lampert Award and a Lambda Literary Award. Her second book, The Garbage Poems, is eagerly anticipated and will be published by Brick Books in 2025. Notably, Swanson was also shortlisted for the CBC Poetry Prize in 2015 for her entry The Garbage Poems.
As part of her recognition, she will receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, and her work has been published on CBC Books. In addition to her writing, Swanson serves as a poetry editor for Riddle Fence.
From her website in January this year: “When I submitted this poem last Spring, I wanted to wish us all some sweetness for this coming year, during a time that hasn’t been particularly easy. As I write this, in the midst of the unfolding news in Gaza over the past few weeks, my heart is breaking in so many directions. I don’t know how to look away from the horror of the daily news. I don’t know how to grieve without fear that my grief will be weaponized against Palestinians. I don’t know how to make the violence stop, and I don’t know how to focus on anything else either. I remind myself that solidarity is a kind of sweetness, that we do not stand alone, that another world is possible. May we see a Free Palestine in our lifetimes.”
Anna Swanson’s achievements highlight her significant contributions to contemporary poetry and her dedication to exploring complex and meaningful themes through her work.
Awards:
CBC Poetry Prize shortlist, 2023
Arc Award of Awesomeness, 2022
Sparks Literary Festival Poetry Competition, 2020
Newfoundland and Labrador Arts & Letters Award for Poetry, 2018
CBC Poetry Prize shortlist, 2015
Arc Poem of the Year, Shortlist & Editor’s Choice, 2015
Lambda Award for Lesbian Poetry, 2011
Gerald Lampert Award for best first book of poetry by a Canadian, 2011
Lina Chartrand Award for Poetry (CV2), 2009
PRISM International Student Poetry Contest, First Place, 2007
Bronwen Wallace Award for Poetry, Honourable Mention, 2007
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